Judgment of the Supernatural
by Bloophearts
Summary: Chihiro, now an 18-year-old, is still waiting for Haku to fulfill his promise to her. Meanwhile, chemicals from the Spirit World, which can give humans supernatural powers, have accidentally leaked into the human world. When a series of murders occur, it is up to Haku and Chihiro to take control of the situation... before she becomes the next target. (Fully summary inside)
1. Prologue: Noblesse Oblige

**Judgment of the Supernatural ****© 2014, Bloophearts**

**All rights reserved.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away; all rights go to Hayao Miyazaki and associates. But other characters that do not belong to the original story of Spirited Away belong to me. :)**

**Warning: The following fan fiction contains violent/gory descriptions. Viewer discretion is advised. I'll be sure to warn you guys if there's any gore/violence at the start of the chapter, so don't worry :)**

**This chapter contains some violence (not sure how much violence since it's subject to opinion, but yes, there is some violence in this prologue). **

_**Full summary:** __Chemicals from the Spirit World, which can give humans supernatural powers, have accidentally leaked into the human world. A mysterious person affected by the leak acquires supernatural powers, and he then decides to use his powers to bring various villains to justice. As a result, a series of murders occur throughout town, whereby the murder process is filmed and uploaded onto the Internet. Chihiro, now an 18-year-old, is still waiting for Haku to fulfill his promise to her while she carries on with her everyday life. When Haku returns with another dragon friend unexpectedly to investigate, the three must work together to resolve this. Now, it is up to them to take control of the situation... before she becomes his next target._

A/N: So anyways, since you got past that part and are still going to read this story, thanks for clicking and hope you enjoy! :) Be sure to leave me a review to tell me what you think yeah! :D Feedback is warmly welcomed! (I'll pay you.)

((I'm kidding, I won't.))

* * *

Judgment of the Supernatural: Prologue: Noblesse Oblige

The boy snuck out of his room, cautiously listening out for any remote sound of footsteps or talking downstairs. Only the delightful silence filled his ears. A jolt of adrenaline ran through his heart as timidly, he took one small step out of his barely illuminated room, before scurrying down the steps quickly and quietly, almost resembling a mouse in his own home.

He shot a glance at the closed, front door, watching closely through the narrow slits of his eyes that were decorated with fiery purple and blue-black bruises. Other than the occasional sounds of tires squealing and engines roaring on the road just outside the house, there seemed to be nothing indicating life directly outside the door anytime soon.

And so in a flash, he bolted towards the kitchen on his bony, twig-like legs that, to anyone else, would seem like they would snap at any moment. He rummaged through the cabinets and fridge for some food so quickly, as if his very life depended on it.

Well, it did.

To his relief, the place was filled with stacks and piles of canned food, uncooked food and even leftovers from the past 2 days. The kitchen was practically bloated in comparison to the poor boy.

His stomach growled longingly, and he placed his hand over it, patting it and licking his lips. Drool formed at the side of his mouth but he was too caught up in admiring his bounty to bother wiping it off.

After careful selection, he settled on a loaf of bread that was nearly finished. Goodness knows what would happen to him if his dad found out he'd been snooping around in the kitchen while he had been out attending to some business. A big scowl emerged on his face at the thought of that monster he was to call his father. And then he winced; he'd forgotten there was another bruise at the corner of his mouth.

He eagerly gobbled down the bread with his hands, not even bothering to spread any margarine or butter on it. It tasted like heaven to him. The boy ate like a pauper on the streets, as if he had not eaten for days, which was exactly what'd gone down during the week. As his punishment, he had been locked up in his room for the past 2 days without any food other than a meager supply of water, barely enough to keep him sufficiently hydrated and alive.

_Click. _

Alarm rang in his ears and in his gut. That simple sound sent multiple chills down his spine and subconsciously, his bony hand trembled violently. Multiple things began flying past his mind all at once, making him feel a little lightheaded. Bile rose at the back of his throat as he imagined the endless possibilities of punishments he'd have to go through for this.

He stepped back, thoughts of all hunger having left his mind by now, as his shaky legs attempted to stand and run to the safety of his room. Unfortunately, his hands that had been grappling for support accidentally swung several dirty plates left on the counter onto the floor. They landed with a loud clang, shattering into millions of shards.

He attempted to run, but his legs were rooted to his spot. The boy was desperate to leave, so desperate that tears were already forming in his eyes as his whole body shivered at his imminent destruction.

The door swung open violently, revealing a plump man. He was wearing a suit, but had loosened his tie and the top button of his shirt. Beads of sweat rolled down his pink face. He looked immensely annoyed. A thin, lanky woman followed meekly behind him, only nodding every now and then to assure him that she was paying attention to his grumblings and complaints.

Then his eyes flickered over to the boy was in the middle of his attempt to escape, but was now standing stock-still. The whole scene resembled a mouse standing in front of a ferocious tiger; it knew it had no way of escaping other than into its predator's jaws.

A long string of curses and profanities flew out of the man's mouth, accompanied by his domineering stance and fearsome voice that bounced off the towering walls of the house. The front door slammed close so loudly, it sounded like he had broken it off the hinges. The tension that filled the air was thick.

Said man's wife quickly left for the kitchen after spotting the filthy mess made on the once gleaming white tiles waiting to be cleaned, in fear of having to witness the impending torment this boy would have to go through as his punishment for defying orders.

The man roughly grabbed the cowering boy by the hair and gave him a loud, ear-splitting slap across his scarred right cheek, before doing the same with his left. The salty, metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and the red liquid trailed down the corners of his mouth.

He looked away the whole time, not daring to look into the man's outraged glare. More tears slid down his stinging cheeks as the man left to take the thick cane from the other end of the room.

"How dare you disobey me!" The man shouted at the boy, whipping him on the thigh, knowing all too well that it hurt the boy terribly. The boy wailed uncontrollably, the pain shooting up his thigh as if it were on fire. This only earned him a few more whacks of the cane. The recent cane marks on his thigh that had yet to be healed opened up and blood seeped out of them. Red drops dotted the white tiles which only made the man even more agitated.

"Continue crying! I'll cane the life out of you! I'll be damned for life if I don't, you worthless piece of shit!" The man continued, as the cane made contact with the boy's waist and forearm, and finally, his face.

The little boy cried and cried, not knowing what to do. Oh, how he hated his father, but how he feared him too. The cane continued at him, brutally leaving new cane marks that decorated his already scarred body.

After the man got tired of caning the boy, he hurled it behind him before personally getting down to the climax of his punishment. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the boy attempt to catch his breath, and when he was least expecting it, kicked the boy in the ribs, choking the air out of him.

The young, helpless child was flung against the wall and unable to support himself any longer, he fell to the ground on his side. The kicking continued until the boy was blue in the face.

It felt like an eternity before the kicking stopped. He thought it would be over, but heavens, no. That beast was far from over with him. A shoe pressed down hard on the side of his face, and some gravel fell off the shoe into his open mouth that was gasping for air. His skull felt like it was being crushed and it sent a sharp pain across his head.

"S-Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry… …" the boy repeated multiple times. Apparently though, it fell on deaf ears. The man was obviously not satisfied yet.

He lifted up his shoe and pulling the boy by the hair, commanded him to lick his shoe. The boy almost immediately complied, and the pitiful sight only brought a sadistic, satisfied smile on the man's face.

He took disgusting pleasure in abusing his own flesh and blood, an unforgivable sin to any decent being. Every day, the boy wished that his father would get the retribution he deserved, desperately trying hard to hold onto the belief of karma in the world.

Through the chaos of it all, none of them heard the tiny click of the door as it opened and the drop of the pin used to pick the lock onto the floor. Without warning, the man's head was struck by a large flower vase, shattering the antique into a million pieces.

He stumbled backwards, the shock and horror evident on his face as he brought his hand up to his head, staining it with crimson red blood, revealing the shocking amount of blood he had never lost in his entire privileged lifetime. He felt dizzy and stumbled to and fro, similar to a drunkard, before falling onto the ground against the wall.

The culprit hid behind a clinical mask and a pair of sunglasses matched with a cap. It was clear though, from the build that it was a man. He proceeded to execute his punishment on the cruel man, starting it off by kicking him on the ribs. A sickening crack echoed in the room, followed by the agonized screams of the wild animal beneath his feet.

The boy, seemingly half-dead, looked up at the man questioningly, and even though he could only see the side of his covered face, he could see, without a doubt, the pure joy masked in his hazel eyes.

The father let out a shriek of pure horror, alarming his wife. She came out to see what was going on, half-expecting her son to be dead, but as soon as she made eye contact with the killer, before even a whimper or gasp could escape her quivering lips, a gun was in the killer's hands.

"Bang!" The bullet landed cleanly in the middle of her forehead. Her face was frozen in time, a horrified expression etched onto it as her body fell limp onto the floor with a loud 'thud'. Her husband attempted vainly to see what had just become of his own wife, but hadn't the ability to withstand the pain it resulted in nor was he allowed the time to do so.

In a flash, the masked killer took a bloodied baseball bat lying at a corner and started to hit the man relentlessly on the ribs. The man choked and choked, his face soon turning blue. 3 of his ribs were jutting out, and one could guess that his broken ribs had punctured his lungs. Once blue in the face, the killer stepped hard on the man's skull before aiming his gun. One shot to the left wrist. The man screamed in agony. Another shot to the right wrist.

He continued screaming, and begged unashamedly for mercy. The killer laughed bitterly, and lifted his shoe, pointing to it. His victim understood and immediately licked like a pathetic dog. His killer laughed once again, this time the joy evident in his laughter. He shot the man's legs before finishing him off with a bullet to the temple.

All this was witnessed by the pitiful boy on the side. A million things were going through his head.

People would have thought, how pitiful, for a boy as young as him to lose both his parents in a brutal murder. How much pain and sadness he must have been feeling right then!

He was not like other children though. He looked on calmly at the lurid scene, not a single gunshot that rang in his ears piercing his heart like it would any other normal child. On his face, in place of a depressed expression, was a grin that brightened up his tear-stained and bloodied face, a grin that he had not worn in ages. He ignored the stinging in his mouth and face; he was too overwhelmed with joy.

When the deed was done, the killer turned to him and squatted down, comfortingly patting the boy's head. He removed his mask, sunglasses and cap, revealing his dirty blonde hair that shaggily fell over his forehead and lively sky blue eyes. His smile was reflected in the boy's face.

"Onii-san!" The child wrapped his arms around the neck of his next-door neighbor whom he had long since acknowledged as his older brother before wincing at the pain that his sudden movement brought on. His brother held him close, and then pulled away. "I promised not to leave you alone, didn't I?" he chuckled and ruffled the child's hair.

* * *

"Nii-san! Nii-san!" the boy cried out in the restraining arms of his brother's parents. They were grief-stricken upon discovering the horrific deed their son had committed, and were now, together with the boy, watching helplessly as their son was carried away by the police officers.

The boy's brother heard his cries and looked back, a smile still on his face. He whispered something to the police officers who were accompanying him before walking over, accompanied the hand-cuffed youth to the child. They eyed his every move carefully, wary of any tricks that he might have up his sleeve.

He squatted down and looked at the boy in the eyes. "I won't be able to come and play for a while, so while I'm gone, just remember two words for me, alright?"

"Anything for you, Nii-san!" he chirped.

"Noblesse oblige."

"What… what does that mean?" the boy asked, eyes widening in curiosity.

"It means," he explained, "that if one has the power to help the weak, then he is obliged to do so. That is what I did for you. Nii-san won't be here to protect you anymore, so you must learn to protect yourself and others. Promise?"

"But I'm so small… I still need you to protect me," he pouted, moisture gathering in his eyes.

His brother chuckled gently. "Really? To me, you're the strongest boy I've ever seen."

"For real?"

"For real," he smiled. "When you grow up and become a man, you'll become even stronger than nii-san, for sure. And when that time comes, be sure to help protect others in my stead, okay?"

The man stuck out his little pinky, and the boy followed, hooking them together.

"Pinky promise, nii-san!"

* * *

'_Noblesse oblige,' _he thought, the words entering his mind yet again. "Now…" the grown man chuckled coldly towards his victim, rubbing his hands together, "let's get on with your judgment, shall we?" His victim cowered against the wall, his eyes pleading, but nothing would stop him or the judgment of the supernatural.


	2. Judgment

Judgment of the Supernatural: Judgment

"So… wanna tell me what was up with Takuma-kun just now?" Yui cocked her eyebrows teasingly at her friend.

"Nothing's up," she replied indifferently, tucking a stray strand of chocolate brown hair behind her ear. But knowing Yui, she wasn't about to let her off easily.

"Hmm? I don't think him suddenly popping into the homeroom and confessing to you is nothing, Chihiro."

Chihiro rolled her eyes and looked away from her friend's expectant gaze. "Takuma and I are friends, nothing more. We've been like that since freshmen year. Besides, what's there to like about me?" she added nonchalantly.

Yui shrugged. "Gee, I don't know, you have great tanned skin that glows, silky, rich chocolate hair and to top it off, a really hot figure. Sometimes, I don't know what you're studying here for; you should just drop out of school and be a model." Chihiro's cheeks heated up slightly and looked at her friend who winked in return. "You know it's true, Chihiro."

"It's not true; you exaggerate too much, Yui. I wouldn't want a guy who likes me for how I look, and I look like a pig standing next to you," Chihiro retorted.

Yui had wavy black locks that hung loosely around her shoulders and her bangs gave her a refreshing, youthful look. Her dark, sparkly eyes seemed to be able to enchant any guy who made eye contact with her and her mega-watt smile was her trump card when it came to flirting. Her figure was more or less like Chihiro's, but her skin was fair with a smooth complexion.

"What can I say? We're like sisters who complete each other, my _dear_ friend. You're the sporty, athletic and outgoing one while I'm the artsy, fun and flirtatious one. And the best part is, we're both unbelievably hot," Yui beamed and batted her eyelids as seductively as possible, making Chihiro laugh.

They continued walking in silence, enjoying the random noises of chirping birds and falling leaves. "So I take it that it's going to be a rejection?" Yui asked.

Chihiro shrugged with a blank expression. "What do you think?"

Yui heaved a loud sigh. "Chihiro, you should give some people a chance. You never know how dating them will be like if you don't try! Maybe you'll start to like them after a while. And Takuma's like, our best guy friend, and I've seen the way he treats you. He's smitten."

Chihiro did not reply, but instead, looked up at the clear blue sky, observing the white wisps of clouds. She sighed at the thought of having to go through another rejection. Some guys were cool with it, which made it easier for everyone, but some simply didn't know when to give up or to stop being overly-clingy like the men they should have grown up to be. Although, it did make her feel bad to knowingly hurt another's feelings. It wasn't exactly a very fun job to execute. The term 'troublesome' fit such situations perfectly.

"Earth to Chihiro!" Chihiro stopped walking abruptly upon seeing Yui's frantically waving hand in front of her face. She playfully hit the hand away as if it were a pesky fly.

"What are you doing? Which lucky guy are you dreaming about?" Yui teased.

Chihiro shook her head and frowned, touching the purple hair tie that was wrapped around her wrist. It was the only memory she had of the dangerous yet alluring world that she had entered a couple of years back.

"Aww, you're no fun. Tell me!"

Chihiro shrugged and the tiny feeling of guilt for keeping it a secret tugged at her heart, but she shrugged it off. "I was just thinking about the upcoming tournament."

Her friend nodded understandingly and turned away but perked up again, as if remembering something important. "Oh right! Are you free this Saturday? Rika and Honoru invited us to go skydiving along with some of the other guys from the class, though I'm not sure if I actually dare to pull a stunt like that."

The corners of Chihiro's lips turned up. "Sky diving? I'm in."

* * *

"You scared?" Takuma shouted over the noise made by the aircraft.

"Nope. You sure you're not going to chicken out?" she mocked playfully. Takuma puffed out his chest. "I won't! Just hold on to me a- AAAHHHHH!"

Chihiro jumped suddenly and pulled Takuma along with her. He yelled and cursed and gripped Chihiro's arm tightly, quickly forgetting in all his shock that he was supposed to be protecting a scared Chihiro, instead of the other way around.

Chihiro, on the other hand, did not seem to notice the frantic man beside her. She closed her eyes and felt the wind caress her body, enjoying the freedom of it all. As she fell, a rush of adrenaline swept through her body, exciting and thrilling her. After what seemed like a measly number of seconds, the parachute appeared above her and Takuma followed, hauling their bodies up into the air before descending slowly.

"That. Was. Insane. Come take a look at your picture!" Yui yelled towards Chihiro and Takuma who had just landed safely. Takuma's legs were wobbly and managed a weak, shaky smile towards the grinning woman beside him who graciously offered him a hand. They made their way over to their excited friend who instantly shoved the picture she had taken into their faces.

The background was filled with the beauty of the sky and Chihiro and Takuma were nicely taken. Their expressions, next to each other contrasted largely. Chihiro laughed good-naturedly and patted Takuma on the shoulder lightly as a form of encouragement. He smiled sadly in return, disappointed that he had failed in his valiant attempt to win the heart of the girl.

Yui then abruptly squealed in excitement again, scrambling for her camera to take the pictures of incoming Rika and Honoru. Chihiro held the picture and walked away, deciding to take a small stroll while waiting for the others. She gazed at it and smiled, laughing internally at Takuma's opened mouth and his petrified face before her eyes darted to something a little more familiar in the background.

In the clear blue background, a thin streak of white that danced about had been captured, and Chihiro blinked a few times to ensure she wasn't seeing things.

Looking at it again, she saw it. Faint, but she saw it.

A faint, sea green color coated the outline of the white streak.

Chihiro looked up, a surge of hope and happiness lifting her spirits, before quickly snapping herself out of it.

"Chihiro! Everyone's down already! We're heading for lunch now!" Rika shouted at the top of her lungs towards the spaced out girl. She snapped out of her thoughts and dismissed the white streak and green outline of it as a mistake and jogged over to her companions.

_He's not coming back. Give it up already, _she thought to herself absent-mindedly as Yui cheerfully linked arms with her.

* * *

Back at home in the backyard, Chihiro's sweaty body lay sprawled out on the ground in her backyard. She inhaled and exhaled slowly which helped her to relax like the yoga classes she used to take.

After 5 minutes of resting, she decided to continue. Her ponytail danced about in the breeze that cooled her and she wiped the perspiration that dotted her forehead and upper lip. Picking up the basketball beside her, she started dribbling and ran towards the basketball hoop at the other end of the court before leaping up into the air and dunking it in. Dunking the ball always felt good, no matter how many times she did it.

After dunking the ball in a few more times, satisfaction seeped into her being while the stress got out. The girl had always loved basketball since young. Being able to jump high gave her a sweet rush of adrenaline, thrilling her whole.

_Brringggg… …_ Her phone rang. Chihiro jogged over to her phone that was sunbathing at the corner of the court. Not bothering to check the caller ID, she picked it up.

"Chihiro speaking…"

"Chihiro!" Yui all but screamed into the phone, making her friend cringe and put the phone a distance away from the ear. "Get your butt over here quickly! I really need help! It's urgent! Just get over here as soon as you can, okay?!"

_Beep. Beep. Beep._ She had hung up. Groaning, Chihiro made a final long shot and surprised herself when the ball made it through the hoop. Knowing Yui, she was probably freaking out over what to wear, probably for the dance.

She jogged to the kitchen, filling up a tall glass of water and jugged down the contents in two huge gulps. Up the stairs she ascended to her room and dried herself off with a towel before stripping off her blank tank top and sweats for her favorite pair of dark green shorts and throwing on a simple V-neck black shirt.

"Mom, I'm going to Yui's for a while," she yelled towards the kitchen where her mother was preparing dinner.

"Alright, but don't take too long! Dinner will be ready in an hour! And lock the door behind you, dear!"

Chihiro grabbed the keys from its usual spot on the shelf, shutting and locking the gate firmly behind her. With her cell phone in hand, she began a light jog to Yui's place, which was just down the street. In no time at all, she had arrived and rang the doorbell.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Kioshi," Chihiro greeted the woman politely at the front gate.

"Why, if it isn't Chihiro! I suppose Yui called you up?" she chirped, opening the gate for Chihiro to enter.

Chihiro nodded, and upon spotting the man of the house on the couch engrossed in his work on the laptop, greeted him too. He looked up, and at the sight of Chihiro, beamed.

She was almost like their goddaughter, considering the numerous times she would come over since childhood.

"Would you like anything to drink? Yui's upstairs in her room freaking out—as usual. Help me remind her to clean up the mess when you girls are done," Mrs. Kioshi offered brightly.

After declining, Chihiro made her way upstairs. Halfway up and she could already hear the opening and slamming of drawers and closet doors coupled with multiple moans of disbelief and anxiety. Oh, she could already visualize the hell of a mess made in there.

The girl tried the door, but it would not budge. The door was not locked, but it seemed there was something blocking it.

"Chihiro? Is that you?" Her friend's voice was filled with sudden relief and the footsteps got louder as she kicked the obstructing clothes aside, letting an astounded Chihiro in.

Clothes and accessory boxes were strewn all over the room. Mountainous piles of clothes were on the floor and bed, while others were hanging out of the half opened drawers or barely hanging onto the hangers in the closet.

"So who's the date?" she asked immediately.

Yui's hair was in a mess, raven strands sticking out in odd places and she looked exhausted, as if she had been at it the whole morning since she woke up. Not that it would have been surprising.

"The dance's coming up soon but I can't find the right dress to wear!" wailed the tired girl.

Chihiro patted her friend on the shoulder, smoothing out her tangled hair at the same time. "There, there. It's not coming up for another... 5 days. What's the hurry?"

"Kazune just dumped his bad excuse for a girlfriend…" Yui trailed off, expecting Chihiro to take off from that bit of information.

Chihiro smiled. No wonder her bestie was so frantic. Kazune had always been Yui's crush ever since the start of junior year in high school. She had almost confessed to him and made a fool of herself, not knowing that he already had a girlfriend, Chizuru.

To put it in a nice way, that girl was someone who did not like commitment. To put it in a bad way, people like her were simply dubbed 'sluts'.

"Alright, I'll help you. So, what are the choices so far?" Chihiro piped up. Yui grinned and led her by the hand to the bed and threw some clothes off, revealing 3 fancy dresses. She tried them on one by one and modeled for Chihiro to judge.

The first one was a strapless yellow dress that hung about mid-thigh with cute ruffles at the end and a dark brown ribbon hanging loosely around the waist. Chihiro nodded approvingly.

The second one was a sexier, daring dress. It was again, strapless, and a striking red. The short, low-cut dress clung tightly to Yui's body and brought out her curves nicely, even showing off a bit of her cleavage.

The last one was quite an elegant, classy pick. A black, spaghetti-strap dress fit comfortably on Yui, and it complimented her light skin tone.

"They all look great, Yui," Chihiro sighed.

"Now you see my dilemma! What look should I go for? Sweet girl or sexy or classy?" Yui asked as she changed out of the black dress into her white tank and plaid shorts.

"Hmm…" Chihiro was deep in thought, wrecking her brains and deliberating the best choice for her friend. Kazune did seem like the bad boy type, and sexy might do well in getting his attention, yet sweet might actually tug at a guy's heart. A girl's innocence could work as well.

"I think… you should go with the classy black one. It brings out your personality, does it not? Mysterious, seductive, classy."

Yui grinned and hugged the black dress close to her chest. "You really think so?" Chihiro nodded and smiled as her friend pulled her into a hug. "You're the best, Chihiro! So, what are you going to wear?"

Much to her disappointment, Chihiro shrugged. "I haven't thought about it yet. Maybe I'll just wear a shirt and jeans?" Her friend gasped in dramatic horror.

"You're coming with me, Chihiro. We need to do some emergency shopping," Yui pinched her nose, "…after you take a bath."

* * *

"Chihiro, you're absolutely…" Takuma gawked while her other friends gathered around. Light pink tinted her cheeks and she shyly looked away while Yui gleefully linked arms with her. "Credit to yours truly," she grinned and nudged Chihiro playfully.

Chihiro wore a sky blue dress that fell loosely down to approximately 2 inches above her knees, showing off her long, slender legs. Her hair had been styled such that most of her hair was put up in a nice, messy bun while a few strands of her rich chocolate hair fell on the side of her face. She had been pestered by Yui multiple times before being willing to put on some makeup. All in all, there would have been only one word to describe Chihiro: Lovely.

Takuma finally found the sense to close his mouth and Rika dragged him off to dance with all the other seniors while Kazune invited Yui to dance when he spotted her. Yui was obviously trying to hide her squeal and glanced back at Chihiro with a humungous grin as she went.

Chihiro smiled and joined the crowd, dancing along to the loud music. Moving her hips to the beat, she danced and partied with her friends and everyone had a good time. When the music became slow though, and the couples began to form one by one, it got awkward, so she went over to the side of the room to grab some fruit punch. She spotted Yui and Kazune dancing along to the now slow music and by the looks of it, she would be hearing a lot from Yui the next day.

Chihiro dumped the empty plastic cup into the trash bag. Seeing that she was getting bored and did not want to be asked to a slow dance by any guy in particular, she walked out of the grand hall towards the pavilion where some couples were having some time together in private.

Avoiding them, she strolled casually towards the roadside and to a quieter place where there were lesser noisy cars and people around. She looked up at the night sky, the gleaming stars scattered everywhere while some were covered by clouds. Thin, white clouds. She squinted again, but soon shook herself out of it. _'Give it up, Chihiro. He's not coming back. He didn't return for 8 years, and he never will,'_ a voice whispered darkly in her mind.

* * *

'_Pretty little girlfriend you got there, Kohaku,'_ teased Yuu. Haku growled at his friend and looked down again, gazing at the beautiful woman down below. She had blossomed into a very pretty lady, and he a small jolt went through his heart when she looked up at the sky. He knew she wasn't looking at him, but seeing those dark eyes of hers from afar could make his heartbeat accelerate. The dress brought out her figure nicely, and however faint, her sweet, pleasant scent tickled his dragon nostrils.

'_Done admiring? Why won't you just go down and talk to her?'_ Yuu asked again, interrupting his thoughts.

'_I already told you, Yuu. It's too dangerous now.' _Haku replied.

'_Sure, like it's not dangerous for her now,'_ Yuu pointed out, moving his head towards an approaching silhouette to prove his point.

* * *

Chihiro decided to take in her surroundings in her boredom, and realized it was darker than she'd thought. There were few cars around at this time of night and she was a fair distance away from the party venue.

A sudden fear kicked in and immediately, her head was swiveling about like a watchdog. She had a bad premonition and her sixth sense had always been uncannily accurate. She glanced behind just in time to see a crazy middle-aged drunkard coming for her. His cheeks were flushed red from excessive drinking and eye bags sagged beneath his bloodshot eyes.

She ducked out of his incoming hands just in time, leaving him fondling with thin air as he clumsily bumped into the wall. A perverted smile hung on his unshaven, dirty face as he stumbled about, clearly having trouble finding his way towards her. He clutched his throbbing head, but was still aiming for the beauty standing in front of him.

"Hey babe, let's go grab a drink or 2… …" he ended up puking on the ground, making Chihiro gag at the sight. The pungent smell wafted towards her nostrils and she pinched the bridge of her nose in disgust. She then backed away and started off sprinting, but the man quickly recovered and wiped the excess vomit off of his chin and chased after her.

"Don't be scared! I just want to have some fun!" he shrieked like a maniac, making the frightened girl cringe. "Ahh!" Chihiro cried out as her heels gave way under her. She felt a sharp pain come from her ankle and she winced. "Dammit!"

Looking back, she realized the man was quickly closing in. Without another thought, she ripped out her heels and held them in a defensive poise. With her swollen ankle, it was useless to run, so she stood there, waiting for the man to come. Her grip on the shoes tightened and she bit her lips to stop herself from showing any sign of weakness. She was no longer that timid, weak 10-year-old girl from before.

"Come on, let's go-" the man's words were cut short by a blood-curdling shriek as he gripped his crotch camel toe-style where the woman had unexpectedly hit him with her heeled shoes. "F***!" he shrieked, which earned him another whack on the cheek. The outraged man fell to the ground, the pain rendering him useless. Wimpy tears flowed out of his eyes while he whimpered and cursed in pain. Chihiro smirked and feeling accomplished, she half-limped, half-sprinted back to the safety of the dance venue.

'_So much for going down to rescue the damsel-in-distress. She's a feisty one, Kohaku. Come, we must report back immediately.'_ Yuu took the lead and flew off into the distant night sky. Haku taking one last glance at the injured girl, resisting the urge to fly down to help her and to teach that stupid drunkard a lesson, followed Yuu back grudgingly.

* * *

"Chihiro! Where were you? We were looking everywhere for you! What happened to you? You're a mess!" Yui all but shouted the minute she caught up to a panting Chihiro. Chihiro shot her a pleading look and tried to tell her to hush down, but it was no use. Soon, a whole bunch of people had surrounded her.

"Chihiro, what happened?"

"What's wrong with your leg?"

"Do you need medical assistance?"

"It looks bad, Chihiro, I'll go get some ice."

Seeing her distraught friend who did not exactly like to be in the center of attention as much as her, Yui shooed everyone away good-naturedly with the help of Rika. "Don't worry, guys, she's fine. Give her some air," Rika said.

Chihiro heaved a sigh of relief and sank down into a chair that Takuma had just brought over. Before he could ask if she was fine, though, a guy in a tuxedo pushed him aside rudely and started attending to the girl's ankle. "Hey!" Takuma yelled in protest, though it fell on deaf ears.

"It's sprained..." the boy commented, getting out some medicated oil and bandages from the first-aid-kit he brought along with him. "Excuse me? What do you think you're doing?" an offended Takuma demanded.

"I was called to tend to her sprained ankle. If you're medically trained for this, then take over by all means," he said calmly. That shut Takuma up effectively, and he fumingly stood beside Chihiro, glaring at the boy, ensuring he did not play any dirty tricks on the injured young woman.

As he bandaged the swollen ankle gently, Chihiro used a tissue paper to dab at her perspiration. Her make-up was probably ruined and she probably looked like a clown, but she simply couldn't care less. Instead, she stared curiously at the man who was kneeling by her chair. His brown hair hid his eyes and with his face down, she couldn't see any of his facial features. After a few minutes of watching his swift movements, he finally spoke.

"All done, be more careful next time." The young man, satisfied with his work, stood up and swished his bangs to the side, revealing his mysterious crystal silver eyes. "Thanks, I'm Chihiro, and I really appreciate it," she politely greeted and held out her hand to him, at which he looked at blankly before turning away, stalking off and disappearing into the crowd.

"What a rude guy. The next time I see him I'll beat the crap out of him. Did he do anything to you?" Takuma asked, obviously still harboring a petty grudge against that man.

"No, other than treating my ankle, nothing else. Don't be such a grandpa, Takuma. Have you seen him around before?" Chihiro replied indifferently. He looked a little familiar, though she could not place her finger on it. After a moment it was waved off as just seeing him around somewhere in school before.

"Nope, never seen him before in my life," he replied evenly.

"Chihiro, you should go back and rest for now after cleaning up. Do you need me to drive?" Yui asked, popping out of nowhere and fanning herself from her dancing expedition.

"No, you stay here. It's still early; I don't want to ruin the fun for you. I'll just take a cab home-"

"Or, I'll drive you," smiled Takuma. Before Chihiro could reply, he waved Yui goodbye. He tugged her arm and hooked it over his neck, leaving his hand at her waist to help her towards the exit. The stunned woman followed him dumbly and pushed the exit door open, though there was no need to; he had turned into a gentleman all of a sudden, not the same usual Takuma she had known since they befriended each other the year before.

He sat her graciously in her seat and shut the door before climbing into his seat a little too gleefully.

As the car started, the young woman stared out the window, looking at the few cars on the highway as they whizzed past, while at the same time catching a glimpse of her reflection. Strands of hair were sticking out in different places, and her makeup was ruined. She looked like she'd just executed a messy job in the sewers.

Chihiro rubbed off some dirt from her crumpled, stained dress and pulled down the bun, securing the purple hair tie onto her thin wrist and letting her hair droop down her back. As she finger-combed it, Takuma coughed, a clear attempt at breaking the awkward silence between them.

"So… does your ankle still hurt?" He glanced at her before returning his attention to the road. "Not so much. It'll heal in a few days, but I don't think I'll wear heels ever again. Once bitten, twice shy, you know," she answered, to which he smiled.

"But, how did you sprain it in the first place?" Now he was genuinely curious as to how the girl he liked had earned that injury all of a sudden during a party of all times.

"I was being chased by a maniac drunkard." The corners of her lips turned up in a light smirk at the memory.

"WHAT? Did he hurt you?" Takuma suddenly shouted.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" she yelled back, and his eyes darted back to and fro, from Chihiro to the road, back and forth, waiting anxiously for her answer.

"Whoa there, I'm not a defenseless woman. I finished him off easily with one hit to the crotch. Thank goodness for heels." He let go of the breath he'd been holding and burst out laughing in nervousness and amusement. He had always loved her indifferent sarcasm.

"Make a left turn after this traffic light and go straight. My house is the second one on the right," Chihiro instructed. Takuma nodded and in no time, the car was at the front of her house.

"Thanks for the ride, Takuma." Chihiro thanked, waiting a second, thinking he would go out to open the door and help her. Apparently not. He did not budge and he closed his eyes, as if deep in thought. Not wanting to make a fool of herself, she opened the door, only to find it locked suddenly by the young man beside her.

She turned around with a perplexed look on her face. "Um, Takuma, could you unlock the door?" she asked carefully.

3 seconds later, his eyes snapped open and slowly, he leaned towards the woman. His hard gaze stunned her for a moment. She swallowed the lump down the back of her throat warily and stared back, puzzled.

"Chihiro, I know you rejected me before… but… but I really, really like you. Give me a chance to prove myself, please," Takuma blurted, and when he was finished, his ears had turned a bright red. Chihiro, on the other hand, dumbly stared at him, not quite knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry, I can't…"

"Why not? Is it me? Is there anything I can do to change your mind?"

"I'm sorry, Takuma… It's just that, both of us aren't compatible…" Her eyes darted down to her ankle, not wanting to look at him. Even though she was indifferent to rejections by other guys, Takuma was still a friend.

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "We are! I like sky diving, I like basketball, I'm even on the team!" he cried. She pulled her hand away. "Takuma, things don't work like that."

"Why not? We look great together, and we know each other really well. Can't we just give each other a chance? We could start out slow, Chihiro. I truly like you." She felt as if someone was strangling her, and suddenly found it hard to breathe.

"Takuma, I really don't know… I'm just not ready for a relationship now; you know that."

He placed his hand over hers tenderly. "I understand, but won't you just give me a chance? Won't you give _us_ a chance? I'm sure everything will work out fine." Without waiting for an answer, he pressed his lips to hers, feeling how soft they were and tasting her cherry scented lip gloss.

Chihiro was too dazed to react in the slightest. Takuma's hand went down to her waist gently, and she felt herself being pressed against her seat. He deepened the kiss slowly, enjoying the simple lip-lock. She didn't show any sign of resistance, which only encouraged him. They continued, both not sure where this was going to lead them.

Many things were racing through Chihiro's mind. What was she doing? She wasn't exactly enjoying the kiss, though she couldn't say she hated it either; perhaps it was because it was the first time she was actually kissing someone.

They continued, until a familiar pair of voices sounded in her head:

"_Will we meet again sometime?"_

"_Sure we will."_

"_Promise?"_

"_Promise. Now go, and don't look back." _

Startled, Chihiro pushed Takuma away, her hand going up to her mouth. "Sorry, I'm really tired tonight, I want to rest." She leaned over to his seat and pressed a button to unlock the doors and left. Chihiro closed the door behind her and hobbled up to the front gate. Before opening it and entering the house, she glanced back at Takuma who was sitting dejectedly in the driver's seat. A rush of guilt swept over her, though she didn't know to whom she was feeling guilty towards.

She quietly opened the door and slipped into the house, the blood rushing to her brain in an effort to process what had just happened. "You're back. So how was the party?" Yuko called from the sofa, her eyes not leaving the addictive drama that was airing.

"I-It was alright," she replied hastily, wanting to escape as soon as possible before her mom noticed. "Are you alright, dear?" Yuko whipped her head around after hearing her daughter's tone which would always indicate something was wrong.

"Chihiro, what's wrong with your leg? Did you sprain it?" Yuko rushed over to her daughter to look over her bandaged ankle. _'So much for leaving,'_ thought Chihiro.

"Yes, I did. It's no big deal. It'll heal in a few days." Yuko's creased brows showed her motherly affections and Chihiro hugged her mother in assurance.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. This isn't a new thing for an athlete like me, Mom," she tried in her most convincing voice. Yuko looked ready to retort, but gave up and feigned waving a white flag in defeat.

She sighed, "Alright, I trust you. The least I could do as your mother is help you to your room." Then she proceeded to help the injured girl up the steps to her bed.

"I'll get some ice for you after you bathe." After Yuko closed the door, Chihiro dropped herself onto her bed and sat there idly for a while, rethinking the day's events. So much had happened in one night, and stress was the main thing weighing on her now. That called for a hot, relaxing bath.

Chihiro got up and hobbled into her toilet, using make-up remover to remove the once beautiful and now smudged work of art done by Yui before removing the bandages. She stepped out of her dress, careful not to trip or accidentally put pressure on her ankle. She then got into the shower, all the while attempting to clean herself standing on one leg.

As the chilly water rained down on her head, drenching her whole body, her mind shifted to the main gloomy event of the day: Takuma's downcast, rejected expression. _'Can we still remain friends?'_ she wondered sadly.

* * *

The man paced back and forth, his bound and gagged victim shrieking as much as possible with his sore throat. A cruel smirk appeared on his face as he squatted down to tear off the masking tape roughly from his victim's face, tearing off some of his unshaven facial hairs at the same time. "Please! Please, I'll do anything! Let me go!" he pleaded pathetically, only making his killer even more delighted. He bent in close menacingly. "Harassing a young woman is beneath any man, don't you agree?" The poor, frightened man nodded like a maniac, understanding where this line of questioning would lead to eventually.

"I'm sorry! I was drunk, and I wasn't thinking properly…" he cried, this time, tears sliding down his sunken cheeks. "Tch. What am I to do with you and your petty excuses, hmm?" The intimidating figure's hands tilted up his victim's chin. "Noblesse oblige… I have the power to save the weak people from predators like you who can't contribute to society in the least, and I promised to use my powers only for the greater good…" His voice trailed off, distracted by his thoughts.

'_Noblesse oblige,' _he thought, the words entering his mind yet again. "Now…" the grown man chuckled coldly towards his victim, rubbing his hands together, "let's get on with your judgment, shall we?"

* * *

A/N: Hey there! What did you think of the first official chapter of the story? (: Do leave a review! And thanks to those of you who reviewed the previous chapter! They were greatly appreciated! ^^

Thanks for reading and God bless! (((:


	3. Alone

Judgment of the Supernatural: Alone

**Warning: There'll be a short paragraph of graphic violence below. Viewer discretion is advised.**

* * *

2 whole weeks had passed without any reply to her text messages. Takuma had ignored her calls, text messages, and in school, upon seeing her he would start off in the opposite direction. Chihiro was getting annoyed, upset and hurt, and had even considered going to his house to check up on him, but firstly, she didn't want him to get the wrong idea, and secondly, it might be better to give him more time.

The young woman sighed restlessly on the bed and picked up her laptop, placing it on her lap. Since she had some free time, might as well go online to find something to do.

Checking her notifications on Facebook, she found 1. Clicking on it brought her to the group her class had created and found a YouTube video posted by Kitami. There were more than a mind blowing 500 hundred comments from her class, and eager to check it out, she clicked on the link without looking at the comments.

A new tab opened and the video was loaded fairly quickly. Her eyes darted to the ever more shocking number of 30 million views for that video titled, "**The Divine Judgment [Real video]**". It was a featured video, uploaded a mere week ago.

She scrolled down to view the comments first.

"_Horror movies just got real."_

"_HOLY SHIT this is some magic freakshow."_

"_Dude, are you sure this isn't photoshopped or edited? There's no way this can be a real video." _

"_I wet my pants seeing this. Damn this is way better than any Final Destination movie."_

"_I swear my mom collapsed and then called the cops after seeing this video. What the hell is this, anyway?" _

The video started off with a bone-chilling scream and shocked the girl out of her wits. She'd forgotten to shift the volume down from the maximum since the previous time she'd used it to blast loud music. To make things worse, she had never been good at handling the horror genre.

Chihiro hurriedly moved her cursor to lower down the volume but accidentally skipped the fully loaded clip to the near-end. A gasp caught in the back of her throat. Her eyes widened at the appearance of a headless body hanging in mid-air with multiple open gashes on his chest while its head was rolling to a stop at a corner. Its once white shirt was now drenched in overflowing blood that formed a large pool on the barren floor.

The only sound she could hear in the background was someone's sadistic laughter. Frozen with fright, the poor girl was rendered incapable of moving momentarily. She surprised herself with her muteness instead of the usual instantaneous screaming that would come whenever she saw something scary alone.

She watched as the camera then zoomed in slowly into the victim's bloodied face as if to let its viewers savor the gory sight, where red liquid oozed relentless out of the severed neck. The thing that caught Chihiro was not the gore though. It was his frozen expression of shock. The man's bloodshot eyes were opened wide, his sunken cheeks and unshaven face stained with red liquid and decorated with bruises. He looked strangely familiar, and without thinking, she paused the clip, trying to take a closer look.

The girl furrowed her brows, pondering, wondering where she had seen that man before amidst the loud thumping of her heart. She was sure she'd met him somewhere before relatively recently for the memory to be that vivid. And then it clicked.

That was the crazy drunkard who had been after her the night of the dance.

* * *

"Any leads as of now?" Lord Kamahi asked.

Haku and Yuu bowed in respect before Haku answered. "Regretfully not, sir. They are very careful spirits. At this point, we have yet to find any leads on their suspected misdoings."

Lord Kamahi stroked his long, silvery white beard, deep in thought. More wrinkles appeared on his aged face as his brows creased together, not bothering to hide his disappointment, though it was not directed at the two dragons in front of him. "Alright, thank you for your hard work thus far and you may take your leave. Please inform the next two to take their shifts now," he commanded.

The two men excused themselves from the large hall and walked down the large red velvet carpet, closing the two large golden doors behind them quietly. Turning out of the long corridor, they entered the reception area where two dragons waited patiently at the entrance. After receiving a curt nod from Yuu, they flew off.

"Well," Yuu yawned without bothering to close his huge mouth, "I'll be heading back now. I'm beat. What about you? Going off to stalk your human girl again?" he smirked.

The grumpy and tired man scowled at him. "I'll be heading back for a rest too. And I am not "stalking" her or doing anything improper, Yuu," he answered.

"Alright, whatever you say," Yuu said in a singsong voice. Haku rolled his eyes and slapped his friend on the back, making sure it hurt before tagging alongside him back for a good and long-awaited rest.

* * *

"Chihiro, did you see that video Kitami posted in the group?" Yui asked, her eyes widening in curiosity.

Chihiro offered a stiff nod, her mouth set in a grim line. Her heart started pounding, still not over the shock after watching that part of the video yesterday.

"You know, they say the video's real. Like, the murderer taped himself killing the victim in that way, no photo-shopping or anything," Yui stated. She had always been a gossip girl, and had probably checked up everything about it on the Internet.

Chihiro sighed. "I didn't watch the full thing. I skipped most of the video by mistake and only saw the severed headless body." The girl shivered at the memory that had haunted her in her dreams last night.

"So you didn't see how he was killed?" Yui's voice raised a few decibels. Her friend shook her head, and she put on a dramatically shocked expression.

"Go watch it, Chihiro! I'm not going to be a spoiler, but the entire murder process was taped and I heard the police are currently investigating it," she squealed.

Chihiro shook her head. "No, I want to spare myself the horror, and anyway, I've got more important things to worry about…" Her voice trailed off sadly, Takuma's dejected look crossing her mind once again.

"How's everything between you and Takuma?" Yui's tone of voice became significantly softer. The silence that followed conveyed her depressing message perfectly. Exhaling deeply, Chihiro checked the time on her phone. "3 minutes before class starts. I'll meet you later for lunch," she waved Yui goodbye and walked off without awaiting any reply.

Chihiro treaded past the people who were either checking their lockers or idly hanging around till the last minute to get to class punctually. "Oof!" Just as she was turning around a corner, collided with someone by mistake, causing him to drop his things.

"Sorry, I didn't see you!" she apologized before scrambling to help pick his books up. Their fingers touched in the slightest for a moment and she looked up to see Takuma, who flinched at the small contact as if he'd just been burnt. His eyes darted away from hers and continued picking up his books and messed up papers, not bothering to shuffle them into a neat pile before rushing off.

Chihiro could only look at his back, his figure getting smaller rapidly at the rate he was rushing away from her. Tears stung her eyes but she blinked them away furiously. It was as if he'd just flung a knife in her direction, stabbing her heart.

* * *

"Three more bodies of victims have been found, and they are believed to be involved in a serial murder case that has happened over the past 2 weeks since the first gruesome discovery of the first victim, Ijirou Himuro. The police have briefly informed the media of some details of the cases, and investigations are currently being carried out.

"All three bodies were found in separate places in Kyoto, but the causes of their deaths differ vastly and oddly as well. The murder processes of these victims have been taped and posted up on YouTube and other social networking websites which have already been removed, however, a new website has been created especially for posting these videos up for viewing. It has yet to be removed successfully; hence parents are advised to ensure children of unsuitable ages do not access these clips. Next, we have… …" Chihiro zoned out from the news and continued picking at her dinner plate.

"My my…" Yuko murmured, shaking her head in disbelief. "Chihiro, I think it's best if you don't stay out too late from now on till the case is closed, alright?"

Chihiro nodded absent-mindedly, not actually hearing what her mom had just said. Her mind was focused on the pictures of those victims, mainly the first picture that had appeared on screen. That man's bloodied face was etched into her memory, and she found herself quickly losing her appetite at the recollection of the video she had watched.

"Chihiro, you okay? You look a little green in the face," Akio stated, looking at his daughter in concern. She shook herself out of her thoughts and smiled tightly, shaking her head.

"I'm not hungry; I'll just head upstairs to rest." The girl stood up and left the table, leaving her parents to wonder what had happened.

Chihiro plopped herself on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Her efforts in attempts to wipe those gory images out of her mind were all in vain. And if she managed to do so, her mind would start veering towards Takuma, again. Muttering a groan, she jumped off, grabbed her basketball and started for the stairs, whizzing past the dinner table and out to the basketball court in her backyard.

She dribbled and dribbled, the rhythmic sound of the ball filling the silent night. Chihiro sprinted and with a swift jump, she dunked the ball into the hoop. Soon perspiration trickled down her neck and arms. She continued until she was panting so hard she had to stop to take a break.

The wheezing girl hunched over, placing her sweaty palms on her knees to catch her breath. She continued late into the night and did not show any intention to stop until Akio demanded she go to sleep like she should for school the next day.

Reluctantly, the ball went through the hoop for the last time before being caught in between the girl's arm and waist as she trudged up the stairs, all sweaty and ready for another bath.

Once in the shower, she scrubbed hard at her hair, focusing on finishing her bath quickly. Not bothering to dry her hair, she flung herself onto the inviting bed. Chihiro crawled under her comforter and wrapped her hair messily in the towel before plunging into a deep sleep, her mind finally steering away from the things that had been haunting her for a long time.

* * *

"For what urgent need have you called to see us so urgently, sir?" Yuu bowed. With a stern look on his face, Lord Kamahi regarded the large group of elite dragons standing before him. "It has been brought to my attention that some strange occurrences have been happening in the human world." Several glances were exchanged before re-fixing their full attention on the lord.

"Recently, strange levels of black magic of some sort have been observed in the human world, more precisely, in the city of Kyoto, Japan, which is coincidentally right where one of the portals is situated."

Haku's body started to tense slightly, a bad feeling stirring up in his gut as the human's image instinctively appeared in his mind. "I suspect it is the cause of the chemical leak from that warehouse of which Kusumi and Shizuru reported 3 days ago." Now everyone started getting restless and worried.

"Currently, we are still waiting for the analysts to find out what the foreign substances in that leak are, and hence we need Kohaku and Yuu together to look into this, while the rest of you continue on your usual shifts." Haku paused before being the first to speak up above tiny murmurs that had erupted from the news.

"Why us, sir?"

The lord paused before answering. "I am aware of your frequent visits to the human world, and I believe that you have a human friend there. Her name is Ogino Chihiro, I believe, the human who mistakenly got herself and her parents into this world. She made quite the fuss, I heard. I want you to collect more information from her regarding these occurrences together with Yuu."

Haku shot a dirty look to Yuu who raised both hands with an _I-did-not-do-it_ look. Raw concern and fret gnawed at him visibly, and Yuu, seeing his friend temporarily incapable of speech, sensibly spoke up. "But sir, we do not want to put the life of a human in danger, especially since she has done Kohaku a huge favor in the past."

Lord Kamahi sighed inwardly. He had been expecting that there would be opposition to this.

"Kohaku, this is a favor we all ask of you. I assigned Yuu to help in the protection of this human girl, and you do understand full well the complexity of the situation. We have to solve this before things get out of hand. And we need your friend to do this."

The man closed his eyes and exhaled slowly through his nose. Everyone's eyes were on him, awaiting his response. He knew that nothing would change the lord's mind, and that the mission was supposedly of utmost importance. It would be mandatory to comply, or that would mean defying orders. "Yes sir, I understand fully," he replied stiffly before quietly excusing himself out of the room.

Lord Kamahi nodded to Yuu who then briskly walked out in pursue of the dragon, carefully closing the doors behind him, muting the quiet and careful murmurs of the onlookers within.

Haku walked as composedly as he possibly could through the turning corridors, trying hard not to break into a run in such a place. Once outside though, he broke free of those restraints and shed his human skin, his dragon emerging. He flew upwards at top speed, feeling the wind caress his scales and glanced at the moon in all its fullness and elegance. It touched him and soothed him momentarily.

'_Hey, let's go for a fly,'_ Yuu's voice entered his mind. Haku paused, not surprised in the least that his friend had come after him. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly and Haku took the lead, flying at top speed, with Yuu easily following alongside him. It was at times like these when Yuu was the best companion any dragon, or anybody, for that matter, could have. He knew exactly what to do whenever he saw his friends in a state of confusion, sadness, fear or anger.

'_Thanks, Yuu,'_ he thought quietly, earning a nod of acknowledgement from his friend.

* * *

Propping his legs up on the coffee table, a dark smile appeared on the man's face, the joy and satisfaction of his work apparent. He popped a few more chips into his mouth, eyes glued to the TV screen while lounging comfortably on his couch.

The police were stupid and useless; investigations had been ongoing for nearly over a fortnight now and still they could find no lead. Well, it wasn't as if he'd given them the chance to do so. He stroked his chin meaningfully as he re-indulged in the delightful memories of finishing off those pieces of garbage. The sound of the crunching chips in his mouth filled the now silent room except for the low hum of the television that had just been switched off.

Deciding to use his newly gained powers for executing punishment unto those who deserved it, he had started off with that idiot who had attempted to hurt his friend. That night, he had followed the man until he started throwing up disgustingly in a dark alley like a dog. It was the perfect opportunity to start. It was a windy night, and the breeze blowing against him seemed to whisper, _"Go on, do it. This is what you were meant for. Use us for the greater good." _

Fate was surely on his side since things have been proceeding smoothly so far.

The man licked his fingers clean and got up, rubbing his hands together. "Hmm…" he hummed and stepped over the messy piles of newspapers that covered the dirty floor in his apartment.

Recording the murder process had been fun, recalling how he had commanded the wind to rip off the head of his victim and gladly zoomed the camera into that frozen look of shock, resembling the face of his accursed, wretched father years ago. _'Nii-san… Look at me now and be proud,'_ he'd thought.

His phone rang, abruptly breaking the silence. He stopped and answered the phone without checking the caller ID. "Yes?" he asked gruffly.

"Sir, the secretary of the chairperson of Taisan just called to make an appointment for a meeting soon regarding the price of the office building which our company is going to sell to them. When would you like the meeting to be scheduled?" his secretary asked smoothly.

"Schedule it for the earliest time slot I have in my schedule," he answered curtly, then hanging up without a second thought. He tossed his phone behind his shoulder, landing it on the comfort of the couch before heading to his study.

His powers had come so suddenly, he was sure it was a gift from God Himself. After experimenting a little more on the other 3 buffoons, he now fully understood how it worked, much to his delight.

Papers lay strewn all over the mahogany desk and newspaper clippings had been stuck up on the wall, some fallen on the leather black chair that stood behind the desk. The man plopped himself on to the chair with a loud sigh and turned on the lamp that stood on his desk, having forgotten to switch on the room light. Flipping through newspapers and research documents of potential candidates ripe for judgment, his eyes landed on a set of document-newspaper clipping pair.

_Names: Kuretsu Megumi and Taisan Haru_

_Profession: Secretary and Chairman of Taisan_

_Research details: Reports of an illicit affair between her and the chairman of Taisan coupled with photographic evidence as published on several magazines and the newspaper. Wife of the chairman, on several occasions during business dinners, has been seen being dragged off to a corner by her husband and being violently abused. _

The cruel man hadcarried out those actions without realizing that his business partner had been there all along, witnessing his brutal acts of abuse.

The man's eyes misty eyes darkened and he slammed his fist onto the desk, disrupting the silent peace in the room. Anger took its time to slowly fuel in him. That bitch and that immoral idiot were giving that poor woman hell. Her pitiful state reminded him of his hatred towards his father, making his hands shake in pure anger. Strong winds aroused in the room and made the papers fly and dance around the room in unsettlement.

Realizing his state of emotion, he inhaled deeply and composed himself and the winds ceased. Papers landed on the floor with quiet shuffles.

Well, she needn't worry any further. He would help to serve that pair the judgment they deserved.

* * *

"Another one?" Chihiro cried in disbelief at the news.

Yui followed, shaking her head sadly. "It's crazy, and I've been watching the murder processes on that website," she added. Chihiro shook her head. It was the talk of the town and almost the entire school was talking about it.

Everywhere they went and they could hear words related to the sudden serial killing case being spoken. The wealthy chairman of Taisan and his secretary both killed. The image of the drunkard again floated into her mind, but she shrugged the creeping fear off quickly, turning to her friend.

"I'm going to head over to the court now. See you tomorrow, Yui." She bid her companion goodbye and slinging her bag over her shoulder, sprinted towards the basketball court which was at the other end of the school compound.

Chihiro headed straight to the locker room to change out of her uniform into her jersey. A few others were there too, and once they were all changed, they went out to the basketball court to do some warm-ups.

After a few minutes of good stretching, Chihiro clapped her hands twice. "Alright, since coach isn't here, you know what that means."

Cheers erupted and everyone began to look for their friends to team up with.

They separated into two teams, and then the fierce battle started. The ball, now in Kizumi's hands, was dribbled and passed quickly to her other team member who was free, but expertly intercepted by Chihiro. Immediately springing into action, she dribbled the ball while running, dodging her opponents with immaculate skill before dunking it in, scoring the first points for the team.

"Yay Chihiro!" her team members cheered. Her lips tugged up in a smile.

Further into the game as her team scored more goals, the other team's members were getting sulky as they watched their captain dunk the ball in more times no matter how much they were on defensive play. "Aww man, next time we get Chihiro!" Kizumi pouted when the time was up. The sweaty captain chuckled and grabbed her towel to dry herself up. "Meet back in 10," she called, heading towards the stands for her water bottle.

As she chugged down the water greedily, the burning sensation in the back of her throat was soothed and she looked up at the sky casually, focusing on evening her breathing. The sky was clear other than a few dark clouds. It was definitely going to rain soon. She checked her bag. No umbrella. The tired girl sighed. She checked her phone for the time and then headed back to the court where the other girls were, catching up on gossip.

"Did you hear about the serial murdering?"

"Have you watched those videos? They're so scary!"

Chihiro cleared her throat, which caught the attention of her teammates instantly. "We'll concentrate on practicing passes, shooting and dribbling for the next hour before heading back. Sounds good?"

At the end of practice, tired but satisfied, Chihiro walked to the locker rooms. There, she changed out of her basketball uniform and threw on her uniform after wiping off the sweat and spraying some deodorant to hide her stink. She loosened her tie to allow her body some ventilation.

"Bye, Chihiro! See you tomorrow!" Everyone waved her goodbye and she did the same, bidding them farewell. She scooped her bag up and then headed outside after packing up.

A streak of bright light flashed overhead and thunder boomed loudly in the sky, cuing the first light drops of rain that landed softly on the ground. Sighing, the girl resigned to her fate and started off for home, the rain soaking her clothes and drenching her to the bone.

Those fortunate friends of hers had either their parents to pick them up or umbrellas to shield them from the free shower.

The rain mixed with her sweat and her wet bangs stuck on her forehead messily, though she did not bother with how she looked now. It was late in the evening and getting too dark, credit to the dark clouds that hung gloomily above.

Chihiro tilted her head back and stared up at the sky above. She sighed. There was no chance of seeing any white clouds today, considering the horrid weather.

She felt for her purple hair tie that held her soaked hair in a ponytail, the only thing reminding her of her adventure and the dragon's promise. The promise which he had failed to keep. She cussed bitterly under her breath.

"I think it's time to let go, don't you think?" Chihiro asked aloud to drown out the pain in her heart, and was thankfully aided by the sound of gloomy drops of water filling in the silence for her as she continued her lonely journey home.

* * *

A/N: Nothing much in this chapter, but hope you liked it! Thanks for the lovely reviews so far; I appreciate every single one of them! (: Hugs to you guys who spared the few seconds to write some comments hehe~ See you around~


	4. Beginnings of Turmoil

Judgment of the Supernatural: Beginnings of Turmoil

"Yui, do you want to talk about it?" Chihiro inquired quietly while the pair combed the crowded hallways towards the cafeteria. All she got in return was a heavy sigh and a dismissive shake of the head from her friend.

Chihiro sighed, deciding not to pry further, though she noticed that her friend already had new bruises on her arms and legs since the first few appeared a few days ago. It was especially odd, since Yui was always careful to stay away from any danger considering her great phobia of pain, and none of the activities she ever participated in involved a lot of violent action, unless dancing could be considered one.

Since two weeks ago, Yui had been acting weird. She'd been keeping to herself and she kept getting new bruises on her limbs that she'd try her best to hide. And contrary to what Chihiro had expected, Yui was hardly gushing over Kazune. In fact, she never talked about him unless Chihiro asked. And even then, all she gave were one-word answers.

They continued walking in silence with Chihiro casting concerned glances at her friend, to which was either ignored or was not noticed. The awkward silence between them led Chihiro's mind wandering all the way to her other friend, Takuma.

Finally, he had stopped ignoring her and had gone back to his usual self. _"I'm sorry, Chihiro. I didn't mean it… I just needed some time to think things through, and I hope we can still remain friends if you're fine with it,"_ Takuma had awkwardly apologized to her after school ended, evidently trying hard to ignore the eyes of their classmates on the pair.

She'd almost hugged him, but decided against it and instead gave him a good pat on the back. "Glad we're back to normal now." That thought once again lifted the corners of her mouth into a smile on her pretty face.

But in a moment it was replaced with a grim line when she recalled her purple hair tie. A few days ago, it had gone missing, and the frantic girl had flipped her house upside down trying to look for it, and she had also spent days trying to hunt it down in school. Alas, it was nowhere to be found.

Being without her lucky charm for a few days was making her go crazy with anxiety. Finding it was of utmost importance now, but as she looked back at her gloomy friend, her heart twisted with slight guilt for not paying enough attention to her.

"Ahh… Yui, how's it with Kazune-kun? You haven't told me anything yet. I heard you two went on a few dates already."

Chihiro's attempt to break the silence with a happier topic had apparently increased the tension between them when her friend visibly tensed, her eyes watering up, but then quickly blinking them away.

Had they gotten into an argument? Did Kazune decide to break up with her? What had he done? Had he hit her, hence explaining the bruises on her body?

The thought made her face harden. She would not allow anyone to hurt the people around her. Making a mental note to confront the boy later, they took a seat at their usual spot in the cafeteria and she noticed that the rest had yet to arrive.

She turned back to Yui and helped her open her bento. Chihiro opened hers and as if on cue, her stomach growled longingly in response. Without further hesitation, she dug in while waving to her other friends that had just joined them for lunch.

"Itadakimasu!" All too quickly half of her bento was wiped clean.

The table was just as noisy as usual, with the bulk of the conversation focused on the murder videos posted online. However, it felt kind of empty with the gossip girl keeping quiet.

Chihiro looked up at her friend, noticing her crestfallen expression that had remained plastered on her face since who knows when and her untouched bento. The others noticed Yui at the same time as Chihiro, and they toned down, not wanting to sound too cheerful in case of being overly insensitive, but at the same time not wanting to be too quiet.

They exchanged several confused and worried glances with Chihiro, who shrugged her shoulders and continued eating, motioning for them to do so as well.

"Yui? Aren't you going to eat?" Chihiro asked carefully, knowing all too well that her friend did not like being provoked in such an emotional state. Without an answer, the depressed girl closed her eyes, stood and left the group and bento at the table.

"…Hey, Chihiro, do you have any idea what happened?" Rika asked and everyone else started inching closer with their food, their eyes never leaving the lone figure of their friend as it became smaller and smaller till it disappeared in the sea of people. They were eager to know what had happened to their bubbly friend who was always happy, no matter what.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I really don't know. She's been like this for a while, and lately it's been getting worse…" The girl's concern was reflected in everyone's faces. Takuma placed a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Don't worry, everything will turn out fine," he smiled, managing to soothe Chihiro's nerves a little.

"Well, we should hurry and eat if we want to make it in time for class. Shall we?" Honoru chirped brightly to rid the table of the tension that had lingered in the air uncomfortably earlier.

* * *

"Kazune, what's going on with Yui?" Chihiro demanded the instant she laid her eyes on the man who had the best chance of knowing what was going on with her best friend. A wave of surprise flitted across his well-carved features at her sudden appearance and outburst before his eyes darted downwards, taking a sudden interest in his shoes upon registering her question.

At first glance, one would have thought the look in his eyes was of guilt, but it was in fact, that of sadness, of which was immediately noticed by her sharp eyes.

That sent a string of questions shooting straight out of a puzzled Chihiro's mouth.

"Why's Yui so upset? Do you know she has bruises on her arms and legs? Did you two get into a fight? Did you hit or hurt her? If you didn't, then why is she so-"

The babbling girl was cut off abruptly by a firm hand that covered her mouth and the next thing she knew, she was being dragged off to a quiet corner in the corridors out of the classroom. She struggled and pried Kazune's hands off of her. She gawked at him, surprised by his actions but stood her ground and held her expectant gaze on him, silently daring him to simply walk away and ignore her.

Kazune looked away, trying to find the words. He looked exhausted, from his eye bags to his sullen cheeks and ragged self. That was the first time Chihiro had ever seen this man in such state. A glistening tear slid down his cheeks and he swiftly wiped it away, for fear of letting others see him, the all-popular and fearless football team captain in his weakness.

"…I don't know what you're talking about, Chihiro. I want to know what's going on too," Kazune broke off, his lower lip quivering. He looked ready to cry soon. He swallowed thickly before continuing.

"Yui has been ignoring me for the past few days. I think she wants to break up."

* * *

"WHAT?! How is that even possible?" Takuma all but shouted, catching the attention of the math teacher instantly. The stern woman turned and walked towards Takuma and Chihiro, snatching the note away from his hands and tearing it apart before throwing it into the bin. Everyone's eyes were on the two of them now, and Chihiro felt her face flush slightly in embarrassment.

"Pay attention in class, you two. Report for detention after school," she said in a monotonous tone which betrayed her piercing eyes behind the pair of spectacles. Chihiro silently groaned, shooting her friend a dirty look to which he shied away, embarrassed and sorry for his outburst.

The lessons seemed to take too long to pass, and detention was much worse. The two sheepishly looked down while the teacher reprimanded and lectured them about paying attention and respect and being mature in their actions. The list of things she talked about had been endless.

"Glad that's over," Takuma remarked as they left, laughing nervously. Chihiro nudged him playfully in the side as a punishment for his doings and he bowed formally, though his grin betrayed his supposed 'somber apology' mood.

They laughed heartily, glad things were finally normal between them. Chihiro then looked casually at her wrist, but the absence of the hair tie brought about a pang of anxiety, and she started to get distracted again.

"So, you say she's been ignoring Kazune?" he confirmed, getting serious. When she didn't reply, he nudged her.

Chihiro looked up in surprise and he repeated his question again. She nodded, understanding why the news had come as a shock. They were the ones whom Yui had confided in about her crush on Kazune, and they knew how much she did like, perhaps even loved him.

"Kazune doesn't have any idea whatsoever about what has been going on with that girl…" she added, thoroughly disappointed that Yui was not willing to share or confide in her, and also upset for Kazune at the same time. The both of them had been steady for a while now, and no matter how short a period they were together, apparently he had liked her, and for a long time at that, except that he had been too shy to confess his true feelings for her.

"She'll talk when she's ready. Give her some time like how you did for me, alright?" Takuma smiled and reassured her sincerely. Chihiro offered a smile in return and he gladly offered her a ride home.

* * *

The next day went on as usual, but the only not usual thing—as usual—was Yui being the depressed woman she had become since a few days ago. Everyone who knew her was getting unsettled and they wanted to find out exactly what was going on with their dear friend.

Sick and tired of waiting, Chihiro decided to start keeping an eye on her friend as much as possible. Takuma agreed to this, though slightly unwillingly, because knowing Yui, if she found out she would definitely explode at the both of them.

The two of them hid behind walls and pillars as they stalked Yui around school in between lessons and during lunch. She was simply walking around listlessly, and it was clear that she was spacing out during lessons. Takuma and Chihiro agreed to meet up after her club activity ended outside the dance studio to accompany and escort her back home, since she might want the comfort that they could offer at any time.

It was Chihiro checked her phone again impatiently. Where was Takuma? Yui was not in the studio, surprisingly, though her bag was still in there. The girl paced about restlessly and scanned the area for any sign of her friend. She was tempted to leave and start scouring the school for Yui, but she had promised Takuma to meet up at that place.

Ten more minutes passed. The girl could finally stand it no longer. "Stupid Takuma…" she muttered under her breath before lightly jogging off in search of her friend, sending him a quick text at the same time.

The empty hallways and slightly darkened sky as the sun set made the place look a little eerie. Only a few people remained, but were already leaving the school or packing up. Chihiro's head whirled about, hoping to catch a glimpse of her friend and perked up her ears for any sounds that might lead her to her.

"Arrgh!" she let out a grunt of frustration. "How big is this school?" she muttered, thoroughly annoyed and her patience was almost well at its maximum.

"Please! Stop…" Chihiro paused at the soft, muffled sounds. She immediately recognized it as Yui's wailing.

Without a second's thought, she was sprinting towards the source of the sound where the wailing got louder, but so did the sounds of slapping, kicking and snickers. She flung the toilet door open, taking the person who was standing behind it by surprise with a strong hit to the head. There, on the floor, was a crying Yui.

Upon laying her eyes on Chihiro, she looked up at her, shocked, relieved and pleading at the same time. Chihiro's eyes moved slowly upwards from the girl's tear-stained face to the perpetrator. The perpetrator looked slightly surprised, but other than that, the smirk and hatred in her eyes were apparent, directed at the pair of friends.

"What are you doing, you-" Chihiro inhaled sharply and stopped herself from cursing. Sensing something behind her, her hand shot up and grabbed the pole that was about to strike her on the head. She snatched it away roughly, her strength completely outdoing her attacker.

"Are you trying to kill me?" she shot daggers at the perpetrator, who slightly paled at the menacing look on her face. Chihiro helped her friend to her feet and threw the mop aside.

Chizuru stood there, unfazed. "Make sure you do it, Yui, or else." After one last meaningful glare at the pitiful girl, she left with her loyal dogs following right after. Chihiro was about to stop them, but Yui tugged at her sleeve.

"No, Chihiro. Don't."

Chihiro sighed in deep frustration. "Yui, what are you so scared for? Why didn't you tell us? What did she want?" she demanded, watching her friend wipe her tears away and struggle to find the right words.

"It's nothing, Chihiro. Just leave it alone," she whimpered and tried side-stepping the angered girl, but was stopped, not surprisingly.

"What do you mean leave it alone? Yui, you can't let Chizuru get away with this. She nearly killed me!"

"Just leave me alone! This is my problem, not yours, so just mind your own business, Chihiro!" With a huff, Yui stalked off, leaving Chihiro rooted to her spot. The confused yet furious girl was trying to think of what kind of drug Chizuru had given her. Or maybe she had tried hypnotism or brainwashing.

Her phone buzzed and vibrated in her pocket. She picked it up and read Takuma's text.

'_Sorry, something came up, so I had to rush home, and club activities ended late, just so you know. Update me on Yui?'_

* * *

Upon making eye contact with each other the next day in school, Yui looked away and Chihiro rolled her eyes, the flames within her yet to be doused. Takuma looked at them both, awkwardly trying to find out the reason for the heated tension between those two.

"You haven't told me what's up with Yui yet," he said carefully, not wanting to aggravate her any further.

"Chizuru and her minions have been abusing Yui, and when I went down to help, all I got was a scolding. Anyone would be angry." she said.

He coughed nervously, and thank goodness for the bell that rang, signaling them to hurry for the next class.

"So, you're going to just let this go?" He didn't even have to ask; he already knew her answer.

"No, I'm definitely going to get to the bottom of this."

Lessons whizzed by in a blur, and soon it was the end of school. Together with Takuma, the girl followed Yui around, making sure to keep a distance and to go unnoticed.

Takuma sucked in a loud breath when they saw Chizuru confronting a frightened Yui. Her little minions pulled her into a remote area of the school compound. The two followed closely behind, eyes never leaving the group. The group dragged Yui into a corner behind the school building, not noticing the onlookers who hid behind the wall.

"Give it back, Chizuru," Yui demanded boldly, though her defensive stance betrayed her confident tone.

"Have you actually broken up with him yet?" Chizuru sneered, making Yui pause slightly.

"Yes, I have," she sniffed, tears threatening to fall unceremoniously.

Chihiro's eyes widened at the news. So this was what Chizuru wanted the whole time? She nudged Takuma to express her disbelief, but was dumbfounded to see that he had suddenly disappeared.

"Where did he go?!" she asked aloud, before clamping her hand over her mouth, realizing her mistake. Thankfully, they didn't seem to notice the sound and continued.

"Return Chihiro's hair tie. Now," Yui demanded again with a fiercer tone.

What? Chizuru had it the whole time? That made Chihiro flare up. "You did what?" Chihiro all but shouted by mistake, causing everyone else to jump up.

Chizuru took a while to recover from her initial shock before her lips turned up into a smirk again as Chihiro emerged from behind the wall.

"My, my, anxious, are we?" she muttered. Chizuru held the purple hair tie and a pair of scissors in hand before Chihiro could get to her. "Bad move, captain," she snarled. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, with the scissors almost snapping close on the hair tie, until Chizuru's hand somehow got paralyzed upon hearing a male's voice. "Stop this, Chizuru."

Everyone spun around to see Kazune arriving with Takuma, both making their entrance similar to two prince charmings who'd entered the scene ready to battle for the damsels in distress, and Kazune looked ready to punch the life out of his ex-girlfriend.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Give Chihiro back her hair tie," he commanded. Like a dog scared out of its wits, her shaking hand handed the hair tie back to Chihiro who snatched it back.

The other girls looked away in embarrassment. He walked towards Yui and gently led her away. The way he had an arm around possessively made Chizuru fume like a spoilt brat. Angry tears spilled out freely of her eyes, smudging her mascara.

"Takuma and I will see to it that disciplinary action will be taken against you. I assure you, no one gets away with harming Yui for as long as she's with me." He then left before Chizuru could whine and say something else.

Takuma and Chihiro followed along, and the girl secured the hair tie on her wrist. Her face flooded with relief as she gazed at her precious gift, the _only_ gift she had from the spirit world.

As the group made their way out of the school gates, Yui continuously babbled non-stop to Chihiro. "I'm so sorry, Chihiro! I didn't mean to snap at you the way I did yesterday! I just-" Yui wailed again in her friend's arms.

Chihiro flicked her forehead, half-serious and half-teasing. "Okay, okay, I get it, Yui. I haven't even thanked you for going through all this just for me, Yui. Thank you," she breathed, enveloping Yui in her arms and squeezing. "But seriously, you should have told us about it. I'd have handled it way better."

Takuma snorted. "How? By breaking all of her perfectly manicure nails?"

"Knowing you, you'd have turned into an animal and attacked her for taking it," Yui pointed out, "You go ballistic if someone even touches that hair tie of yours."

"Then you should have told me," Kazune protested.

"I didn't want you to worry…" she muttered.

"You're my girlfriend. It's kind of my job to worry about you," he grinned, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Oh, spare me the mushiness, you two," Takuma complained.

"Get a room," Chihiro grinned.

"Oh well, now that everything's over, what say we go get some frozen yoghurt on the way back?" Yui suggested, and Chihiro smiled, glad that her friend was finally back to her normal fun self. "Just promise me something?" she said.

"What?"

"Don't keep anything from us anymore."

"Sure thing, _Mom._"

* * *

He fumed silently to himself, hands balled by his sides. How dare that bitch threaten and abuse his friend like that? She didn't even seem apologetic in the least when being disciplined with the other dogs that follow her around blindly. He would not waste his time on those fools. Getting back at the perpetrator would be sufficient.

He drummed his fingers on the table in the musty room rhythmically, racking his brains for the perfect punishment to execute upon such a person. She did not deserve mercy, considering the cruelty she exhibited towards his friend. It was evident that somehow or another, she would want to take her revenge; hence he had to do something about it. Protecting his friend was of utmost importance here.

'_Noblesse oblige…'_ The words echoed in his mind again as he got up and looked out the window. The sun's rays shot through, the blinding light too glaring for him to look out.

Smiling to himself, he felt a surge of power and energy rush through his body, and he produced flames through his palm.

"I wonder how it feels like to get burnt by your own actions?" he slyly grinned at the gagged, bound girl sitting helplessly by the corner, her eyes pleading, just like all the others.

* * *

After the team was dismissed, Chihiro and her friends headed to the locker rooms to change. The deodorant spray went around and soon the room was rid of the pungent smell of body odor and perspiration and filled with the smell of air freshener.

"Thanks, Chihiro. Bye!" Chihiro waved her friends goodbye. It was her turn to do the inspection of the basketball court before leaving.

She packed up quickly, loosening her tie as well as unbuttoning the first button of her uniform since it was extra hot that day and picked up her bag to do a round of inspection before leaving. There was nothing wrong, as usual, so she left the school grounds and started for home.

She chugged down the remaining meager amount of water in the bottle, putting her hands up to shield her from the blinding glare of the sun. Her uniform was now drenched in sweat, and she groaned. It was incredibly uncomfortable. What she would do for a bath.

As her mind veered elsewhere in a dream-like state, as it always did, her thoughts started to clear and the spirit world intruded into it, filling it with thoughts of her friends, the bathhouse, and her dragon.

Some part of her wanted to scream and forget about him in all her anger and frustration, seeing that he had not once shown any sign of remembering their promise ever since she left. She continued sadly on for a matter of minutes, until a strange musty, pungent smell hit her nose. She wrinkled her nose in distaste, pinching it shut and disallowing more of the smell entry to her nostrils.

The girl snapped out of her thoughts and took in her surroundings. She had gone way off track from her home, now in an unfamiliar area of town. It was a non-sheltered area, though there were some benches nearby and an old house a distance away. There was a very pungent smell near the sea.

She made her way towards it carefully, making a guess that she was at a remote part of a pier, spotting the faint outlines of cargo ships and yachts far into the horizon.

There wasn't anything out of place in the area, actually. Everything looked fine. It was just the smell that was probably just some carelessly and irresponsibly dumped rubbish in a desolate corner because of his or her laziness. But, something told Chihiro, that there was more to it than just a stinking bag of garbage.

She walked over, taking each step with caution. The eerie silence was getting to her, other than the sweeping of waves beneath. A strange feeling stirred up in her gut, her intuition at work.

'_Oh boy, I'm definitely going to regret this,'_ she thought miserably, but her legs refused to stop and turn back. It was as if they'd taken on a life of their own.

As the smell got stronger, she started breathing through her mouth and pinched her nose. She bent over the railings and looked down, searching for the source of the smell. Nothing was around except for the greenish, murky waters that moved along in rhythm to the tides.

Just when she was about to give up and chide herself for being the paranoid person she was though, she noticed it.

A dismembered, charred hand was sticking out on the waters, and her eyes followed along to a floating bag, with a bunch of hair floating on the water.

Her first instinct was to scream, but no sound came out. Chihiro began to tremble violently, her legs first, followed by her hands, which made her tumble on the floor like a heap of soft cotton. Tears sprang in her eyes, but before they could spill out, she sucked them back in, breathing in deeply.

"Breathe in, Chihiro. You'll be okay. Just breathe," she commanded herself. After forcing herself to take a few deep breaths to prevent herself from hyperventilating, she finally found the sense to fumble for the phone in her pocket. She hurriedly dialed 911.

"Hello, I-I've just discovered a d-dead body in the ocean, I don't know where I am, but I think I'm at the remote side of a pier somewhere. Get help, hurry!" she hung up without bothering to hear a reply, not realizing that she had been screaming into the phone like a maniac.

"You're not weak, Chihiro. Not anymore. You're not a weakling," she continued talking, her big, bulging eyes never leaving the dismembered hand.

Suddenly, she felt two hands carry her up gently. "It's okay, I'm here," the man's voice cooed. Her eyes still refused to move, and her lips quivered. The only warmth and comfort she could find was in the strangely familiar, mysterious man's voice and affection.

"Don't worry, you're going to be alright," he continued, making her head lean against his broad chest. Although still shaking, her eyelids drooped, suddenly feeling tired and weary from the shock.

"Go to sleep, my dear. I'm here, and no one can or will hurt you, I promise," he whispered, the last two words lingering in her mind as she finally drifted off into darkness.

* * *

A/N: Who do you think was the man who carried Chihiro up? ;)

Tell me what you think about Chihiro's character in this story! I majorly edited this chapter so that she wouldn't be too OOC and this is the character I've come up with for this story (: Kind of different from the usual frightened, gentle girl I've come up with before. In this story she's more independent and fiercely protective of the people around her. Do you like it? Do tell me what you think! Feedback is very welcome hehe! Thanks for reading and see you soon!


	5. I've Stopped Waiting

Judgment of the Supernatural: I've Stopped Waiting

"Chihiro, why didn't you stay in the hospital?" Yui scolded the minute she laid her eyes on her friend in school.

"Shouldn't your greeting be 'Hi, Chihiro!" or 'Great to see you again!' and not a scolding the minute you see me?" Chihiro retorted.

Yui sighed, shaking her head in disbelief. "After what happened, you should just stay in the hospital, Chihiro! Are you sure you're alright?" she asked again.

Just then, Takuma walked over, and before he could interrogate Chihiro the same way Yui just did, she hastily answered, "I'm not a weak girl, Yui. There's absolutely no need to stay in the hospital over such a small thing," making sure her voice was loud enough for Takuma to hear.

Takuma sighed. "Stop being stubborn, Chihiro. Go home and rest." Chihiro refused to budge, however. "I'm fine," she insisted.

"Then why do you shiver and turn pale every time someone mentions Chizuru's name?" he rebuked.

Right on cue, a cold shiver spread her body. The color slowly drained from her face as she remembered the incident. The girl clenched her fists and gritted her teeth to stop them from shaking and chattering as Yui whacked Takuma on the back for bringing it up. Chihiro had fainted after discovering Chizuru's body and woken up to find herself in the hospital with her parents and friends around her, along with a two police officers.

The doctor had said that she was suffering from slight post-traumatic stress disorder and would be incapable of speech for approximately 3 days; hence the police could only take her statement after patiently—or perhaps not so patiently on the edge of their seats—waiting for her to recover her voice.

It was hard to recall the incident for the police to hear, because it had taken much of her willpower to stop herself from crying. She'd been this close to a nervous breakdown altogether. That morning she had insisted on returning to school, taking advantage of the fact that she was physically well enough to be released. Unable to win the argument against her, her parents reluctantly allowed her to attend school.

"Chihiro, you should get more rest. We're really worried about you," Takuma said.

"I know, and I really appreciate the concern guys, but I'm honestly sick of staying at home all day with nothing to do. It's worse at home because there's nothing to distract me, but if I'm here then I have you guys, right?"

Yui nodded slowly. "She's got a point."

"She always does, it's just that you two don't ever listen to me," she scoffed.

"Who says?" the boy retorted. He furrowed his brows in deep thought and after a moment, he sighed. "If anything happens to you, then you're going home immediately. Understood?"

Chihiro blinked, and then nodded. She couldn't help the sheepish grin that spread onto her face. "Thanks."

"We'd better get to class or we'll be late!" Yui called and pulled them along. It was only then that they realized people in the hallways were streaming into their respective homerooms already.

Hastily they ran to the classroom and took their seats just before the teacher could mark them late. It took a while for the class to settle down. The elderly man cleared his throat and everyone fixated their eyes on him, ceasing all murmurings.

"It's good to see you guys again. I know it's a Friday, so this is the last day of the week you'll have to put up with me," he chuckled. "Anyway, we have two new transfer students joining the school temporarily; please treat them well. Come in," he looked towards the slightly ajar door and waved for them to enter.

Several murmurs erupted amongst the students. Many boys were hoping for 'hot' transfer students, while the girls were all crossing their fingers and praying for at least one handsome, date-worthy transfer student.

The boys were let down though, when two male transfer students entered the room. Almost all the girls started swooning in their seats and bouncing about excitedly, all except Chihiro who hadn't bothered shifting her gaze. Her head was propped on her elbow and her eyes were fixated on the piece of paper Takuma and her had been writing silly things on. She silently laughed to herself at the stupid joke he'd just made.

"Class, this is Mirai Yuu and Nigihayami Kohaku."

Ko_haku._

Chihiro nearly fell off her seat, and barely managed to steady herself and her chair from falling sideways which resulted in amused glances and heads swiveling in her direction. She flushed, aware of their eyes on her and kept her eyes on her desk, afraid of looking up.

What was she afraid of? It was the man whom she had wanted to meet—and give him a good bashing—for 8 years, but then again, it could be a mere coincidence in their names. Yes, it was a coincidence. It had to be one. And anyway, did she really want to meet him again? A very messy mixture of frustration and longing was stirring up in her belly. She was surprised that she hadn't already bolted to the bathroom to puke her guts out.

'_Keep a cool head, Chihiro. Everything's alright. He's not here, right? It's definitely a coincidence. Why would he even enroll in your school? Besides, you've already given up on him, so breathe, and stay calm,' _Chihiro chanted in her head. But, unfortunately, her stupid bad-luck-full sixth sense had to holler otherwise.

"Ms Ogino, are you alright?" the teacher asked, concerned at the girl who was busy letting out a string of curses go off like a never-ending bullet train in her head.

Her head automatically snapped up at the sound of her name and nodded self-consciously, before her eyes flickered from the teacher to the two transfer students before the class whose eyes were now on her.

The first transfer student had messy reddish-brown hair and his golden eyes gleamed with great interest at her, the corners of his mouth slowly moving up to reveal 2 rows of perfectly white teeth in a toothy grin. He looked really thrilled to be in school for some weird reason, and she had to admit, he was attractive, but he didn't spark much interest in her.

Her gaze then rested on the next transfer student. He had sea green hair though it was now cut and styled messily, slightly similar to that of the other transfer student. Her brown orbs locked with his jade green ones.

"It's him..?" she murmured, dumbstruck. It was as if 'Haku' was written all over his face and body.

Haku's expression was unreadable, and she could not tell if he was indeed that young boy whom she had met once upon a not-so-good time. He showed no sign of recognition, and she doubted he was really Haku. Her lips parted questioningly.

If he really was Haku—and something told her it was—a part of her wanted to run over and hug him without a care for her classmates, yet a bigger part of her wanted whack him hard for taking so long and for seeming so indifferent when meeting for the first time in 8 years. And most importantly, for having to force his way back into her life after all her efforts in trying to erase him from her memory.

"Yuu, take the seat over there and Haku, you can take the seat behind Ms Ogino," the teacher instructed.

The girls who had the fortune of sitting near the red head shifted in their seats restlessly, apparently eager to check him out and turn on their charms. He smiled and took his seat, motioning for the girls to listen to the teacher good-naturedly.

Haku, on the other hand, took his seat behind Chihiro silently. Her ears perked up at the sounds of him placing his bag down gently and taking heavy books and items from it.

As lessons resumed, she waited for him to call her name. 5 minutes passed. Silence.

10 minutes passed. More silence.

15 minutes passed. Even more silence.

"That's not him, you idiot. He didn't come back, and he never will!" she muttered in angst to herself. Unknowingly, she'd broken the lead in her mechanical pencil placing too much pressure on it and had now created a nice little hole in her worksheet. "Great going," she mumbled, annoyed with herself.

From the corner of her eye, she spotted Takuma mouthing, _"You doing okay?"_ and she mouthed back, _"Great"._

* * *

Haku's heart pounded against his chest so loudly that he feared it could be heard by the entire class. It was the first time he was so close to her, yet he knew what he had to do. He forced himself to keep his eyes to himself and stop checking her out, however tempting.

Just then, their eyes met and his heart leapt into his throat. However, he kept his facial expression unreadable. Hopefully she would not get too angry with him for that. It'd be troublesome if he had to come up with a reason for knowing her since this was supposedly the "first time" they'd met in front of the whole class. Blowing their cover was the last thing he needed to do.

"Yuu, take the seat over there and Haku, you can take the seat behind Ms Ogino," the teacher instructed. Yuu secretly nudged his nervous friend and gave him a knowing smile, earning a light punch on the back in return as Haku walked stiffly over to the human girl whom he wanted to embrace so badly. It would have to wait, he knew.

The thumping got louder as he neared the girl whose confusion and annoyance was apparent in her beautiful features. Her brown hair was tied up in a neat ponytail and it cascaded elegantly down her back, her dark brown eyes full of curiosity as she stared at him questioningly and her full pink lips were slightly parted. He knew he was probably in for a lot of questioning later, and it would be incredibly hard to remain as composed as he was right then.

He took his seat behind her and took his things out to distract himself. He couldn't see her expression, and he was begging her to turn around, but of course she never did. He caught Yuu's teasing gaze to which he returned with a death glare.

Just then, her pencil broke and he thought he heard her swear or mutter something under her breath before she mouthed some words to another guy seated in the middle of the classroom. That boy smiled briefly before returning back to his work. Suspicion arose in Haku.

Was he her boyfriend?

His heart sank at the thought. With her personality and features, it wouldn't be surprising for her to have been attached by now, but-

Haku shook himself out of his absurd thinking. That guy could well be just a friend. He mentally slapped himself for being so ridiculous.

"I'm sorry, could you get that for me, please?" a giggly girl seated near him requested. To think that he thought he would never have to meet flirtatious women like the yunas in the bathhouse again. Apparently, he was very wrong.

'_I guess there're human versions of them as well,'_ he thought sourly.

* * *

"Free!" Chihiro shouted to her teammate who was frantically looking around for someone to pass the ball to. Their eyes met and she nodded, noting her defender who was close by, and sprinted over, jumped and caught the ball in a nice pass.

"Nice one!" she smiled. The girl started dribbling and running over to score.

"Don't look now, but look at the hot new transfer student over there checking you out, girl," Sakura grinned as she stepped in front of Chihiro on defensive play. The girl continued dribbling in her spot while everyone else gathered, distracted by the juicy bit of potential gossip.

"Ooh… Chihiro, you're always getting the hot guys!" Kizumi squealed.

Chihiro rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder while dribbling to see who it was. She expected to see the Haku lookalike, but her eyes landed on the reddish-brown haired man who was leaning over the railing, pretending to be busy with something else.

Taking advantage of her distraction, Sakura intercepted the ball and carried on dribbling. The rhythmic sound of the dribbling ball was drowned out by Chihiro's pounding heart though. She could feel her cheeks heat up, but not because she was feeling bashful or anything; it was more of because everyone's unnecessary attention was on her, which made it extremely awkward for her. She instinctively looked away before anyone else could notice.

"Don't make such a big deal out of nothing. He's busy doing something else and just happened to be here. For all you know, he could be eyeing one of you girls," she replied, trying to sound as indifferent as she could.

"Chihiro, you're blushing, and in class, you were totally staring. Don't tell me; _love at first sight_?" Mika almost shrieked dramatically. Chihiro suppressed the urge to tackle Mika and instead focused on fighting the incoming heat that was about to invade her cheeks and ears.

Without answering, Chihiro intercepted the ball from Sakura whose mind was still stuck in the gossip like all the other girls. Dribbling, she sprinted and leaped, scoring coolly with a solid lay-up.

"We win!" one of them cheered. The rest were still trying to figure out what had just happened.

"As always, the losing team does thirty pushups! Get down!" Chihiro smirked while they sighed and complied.

Meanwhile, Haku looked admirably and unnoticeably from afar at the human girl while she played hard at her sport. She looked beautiful even though perspiration drenched her body, and her graceful leaps captivated him. Even her charisma as a leader was charming. She had changed.

He smiled to himself as he recalled how the 10-year-old girl was 8 years ago at the bathhouse. Having her parents turned into pigs and facing so much trouble at the bathhouse, it was a wonder she had managed to pull through. She was a tough girl, and a force to be reckoned with, even. Now, she had matured into a woman. His heart ached again at their first encounter, and mentally punched himself repeatedly for treating her with such hostility.

Suddenly, a hand was on his shoulder. "So, when are we going to talk to her? You've already taken a few days' break over this, Kohaku. Are we going to follow her home, or just up and greet her?" Yuu asked.

Haku shrugged. "Honsetly… I don't know."

"Come on, you've gotta have more guts than that, dragon."

"It's not that," Haku frowned. "Anyway, you should stop staring at her. You're making her feel embarrassed. And don't mess with her. You've already captured the hearts of all the girls in the school."

"Yeah, except for hers."

* * *

Chihiro sat down on the bench and wiped her perspiration off with the towel. She took a quick glance around the surroundings, thinking that the stalker-ish transfer student might still be there.

She sighed internally in relief when she saw no one of the sort. She picked up her bag and headed out of the school's entrance. The wind slapped her face as if to mock her for all the eventful things that had taken place that day. Her mind traveled to Haku, which promptly dragged her spirits down to rock bottom.

She just couldn't bring herself to believe that he was actually the Kohaku River who had saved her before. He couldn't be. He'd taken too long and it was too late to keep that promise anymore. Besides, she'd already forgotten about him, hadn't she?

The sudden clearing of a throat snatched her out of her thoughts and veered back into reality. A young looking boy who wore the same school uniform as her stood in front of her a few feet away, looking down at his shoes and fidgeting about uncomfortably with a letter in his sweaty hands.

Judging by appearance and height, he was probably a first-year. His stance and posture made her feel slightly annoyed, considering the rather bad mood she was in. She decided that he was waiting for someone and proceeded to avoid him on the sidewalk, but was unexpectedly called by him.

"U-Um… my name is Suzuki Kai… y-you're Chihiro-senpai, right?" he asked in a timid voice.

"Yes, I am. Do I know you?" she inquired. He looked more nervous and scared than before, which made her wonder if she said that a little too coldly. Maybe he was worried about tryouts?

"Are you trying out for the basketball team?"

"I'm- what?" he repeated, more alarmed than ever.

"You're a first-year, right? Are you trying out for the basketball team? If you have any queries then you should ask Rei-kun. He's the captain for the guy's team. He's always around the field if you want to look for him."

"N-No! That's not it! I'm second-year, not a first-year…" he blurted out, waving both hands in strong denial.

"Then what do you need?" she asked.

More fidgeting and shifting his weight. It was starting to annoy her. She was tired and sore after training and all she wanted was to go home, take a bath and then sleep.

"When I first saw you, I…" he paused and stammered, then suddenly shoved a letter into her hands.

"I like you, Chihiro-senpai!" he cried, his face flushing a bright red. Like all her other rejections, Chihiro sighed exasperatedly. This time, a little too exasperatedly.

"Sorry, Suzuki-san, but I don't think I can accept your confession-"

"Nope, she can't. She's already taken." Chihiro found herself being pulled into a man's strong arms and he pushed her head onto his chest in a protective manner.

Both she and the boy got flustered immediately. While she was taking a moment to register what in the world was going on, the boy hastily excused himself without a second thought and scurried off elsewhere.

Even Chihiro pitied him for being rejected like that. Then, remembering her position, she yanked herself free from the man's hold, but before she could scold him for his rudeness, he grinned and held a hand out. "You're welcome."

"For what?" she frowned. She recognized him as the new transfer student, Yuu.

"Saving you from a potentially messy confession."

"It got messier thanks to you, actually," Chihiro said, before side stepping him and walking off.

"You know, you smell different from other humans," he called behind her.

Chihiro froze. Other humans? "You're not human, are you?" she asked slowly, turning around to meet his cheeky gaze, clearly glad that he finally had her attention.

"I'm a spirit. A dragon, to be more precise."

Her heart skipped a beat. So that meant… So it really was him? "Then the other transfer student..?"

"Yuu, we're not here to play. Now stop it." A low voice cut in. It sounded strangely familiar, as if she had heard it from somewhere before. The owner of the voice then came into view, his intense green eyes fixated on her. Despite herself, her heartbeat accelerated significantly and a light, rosy pink tinted her cheeks.

"So you finally caught up," Yuu said with a smirk.

"How did you slip past them so easily?" Haku asked with a trace of annoyance on his features.

He shrugged. "I told them where to find you."

Haku's face darkened scarily. "You…"

"Who are you?" Chihiro heard someone ask, and then she realized the voice belonged to her. It stopped Haku from stepping forward and strangling Yuu with his bare hands. Tension slowly grew as she stared at the man. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, eyes shifty and trying hard to stay still.

"It's… nice to see you again, Chihiro." he replied rather awkwardly.

More silence passed. His eyes darted elsewhere while hers eyes were fixated on him evenly the whole time. "So… I wasn't imagining things?"

"No, you weren't."

She kept silent and for a moment, Haku and Yuu thought she was going to let it slide. Haku cautiously stepped closer, but just as his fingertips brushed her wrist she snatched it back sharply and stepped away.

"Chihiro, I'm sorry," he said, alarmed at her reaction.

"Sorry? What for? For taking so long to come? For pretending not to know me earlier? For making light of that promise you made to a ten-year-old?" Her voice rose steadily until it ended up as a shout. She could tell from the slight wince on Haku's face that her words were getting somewhere.

"I'm sorry, Chihiro, just let me explain-"

"I get it, I'm just a human, you're a dragon spirit. I'm not worth keeping a promise for, right?" she continued angrily.

"It's nothing of the sort! I never treated you like that, you of all people should know. You were my closest friend back then. You gave me back my name. You saved me. How could I not remember you?"

"You sure did a good job of acting like you didn't for the past eight years."

"I can explain-"

"Don't bother. I'm not interested in excuses." She turned to walk away. He was about to protest when she added behind her back, "And, just so we're clear, I've long stopped waiting for you, Kohaku River."

* * *

A/N: Was this chapter alright? Lol. First time Haku and Chihiro meet and… yeah… I'd love to hear some feedback from you guys! I really do want to hear how I can make this story better (: Is it uninteresting or anything? I welcome feedback! ^^ Thanks for reading and God bless!


	6. A Familiar Smile

Judgment of the Supernatural: A Familiar Smile

Chihiro was moody for the rest of the evening. She wolfed down her dinner in order to make it back into her room and escape the questioning gazes of her two parents. They seemed to recognize that she was in a foul mood and could only assume that it was her time of the month.

The girl closed the door to her room and sat by her desk. Pulling off the hair tie from her wrist, she stared at it, willing for something to happen. Anything at all. Just to tell her that this wasn't just a dream, that everything was real.

Chihiro swallowed thickly. She didn't know what she felt. Anger? Frustration? Definitely. That stupid dragon had kept her waiting for eight whole years without so much as a little "Hello" here and there just so she could know he was still alive and kicking, and that she hadn't been dreaming or holding on to an empty promise.

But she still felt a pang of guilt for the way she'd snapped at him earlier. That was not the way she had envisioned their meeting to be in her head. She'd fantasized everything possible, from meeting him while she was swimming in the beach to somehow earning the power to fly and fly over that barrier that barred her from entering the Spirit World and then meeting him on the other side.

She squeezed the purple accessory once more before wearing it on her wrist again. Deciding that brooding over this wasn't going to help in any way—she'd find some way to apologize to Haku, if she could bear even speaking to him again—she decided to devote some time to doing her homework. The stuff was starting to pile up, and she had two tests next week.

Chihiro sighed as she took out the stack of assignments from her bag. It was an assortment of Mathematics, Biology and Chemistry assignments and notes to be done and read. This was going to take her a long time, so she'd better get cracking.

While she was in the middle of her Math assignment, racking her brains as hard as she could to figure out the solution to that impossibly hard question, she heard a knock on her window.

She ignored it. Must be those birds again, they always liked to peck at windows and annoy the lights out of people. "Go away," she muttered.

The bird pecked two more times. She ignored it again.

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. _

The girl frowned. Since when were there woodpeckers around here? She got out of her seat to draw the curtains and open the window, hoping to shoo the pesky things away, but there was nothing, to her surprise.

"What—"

A hand abruptly appeared out of nowhere and clamped itself over her mouth, while another held the back of her head so she couldn't move. Panic kicked in immediately but she was too stunned to retaliate. She was about to recover from the shock when she saw Yuu's face.

"Sorry about this, Chihiro, I didn't want you to scream and we didn't want to alarm anyone—" While he was speaking, he made the mistake of letting go of her.

In an instant she was at the other end of the room, narrowing her eyes at him and trying her best to calm herself down. Her heart was still hammering against her chest from that ambush he pulled on her. "What are you doing here?" she demanded a little too loudly.

In response, he jumped in and made some frantic gestures with his fingers to tell her to pipe down. "Don't let your parents know I'm here."

"Why not? Why are you here?" she continued, ignoring his plead.

"Shh! Chihiro, we need to talk to you!"

"We?" She raised her eyebrows. Her gaze went from Yuu to the window, where a certain green-haired man was now standing.

Their eyes met, but she hastily looked away, as did he. "What are you doing here?"

"I already said, we need to talk to you," Yuu said.

"I don't have anything to say to you two."

"Well, we do. Hear us out, please? It's important."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm busy, and both of you could have just entered by the front door like normal people!" she retorted.

Yuu smirked lightly. "Well, we're not normal people, are we? Besides, I doubt you'd have let us in if we went through the front door."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What makes you think I'm letting you stay in my room? I could just scream and call the police."

"But you won't," Yuu said confidently.

She tipped her chin up and puffed out her chest. "What makes you so sure?"

"You wouldn't do that to an old friend," he smiled, gesturing over to Haku, who was stiffly standing by the window.

Her hazel orbs met his dark green ones and she found herself looking away again. She still couldn't face him.

"You're soft at heart, no matter how upset you are with your friends," he said.

Wordlessly, the girl sat back down by her desk and attempted to resume doing her work. She really didn't need this stress at midnight. She wanted to kick those two out of her room so badly, but unfortunately, as Yuu said, she just didn't have the heart to do so. Not when Haku looked so broken back there.

The pang of guilt hit her again. She was the reason for that crestfallen look on his face, and she didn't like it at all. Sure, it had been satisfying to get some of that frustration out earlier, but it just hadn't sit right with her after that, after refusing to give him the fair chance to explain himself.

But she still wasn't ready to speak to him. Not yet.

"Chihiro, please don't give us the silent treatment. We really need your help," Yuu said.

She let out a sigh of frustration. "Please, just leave me alone. I'm really busy, okay? Whatever it is, it can wait, right?"

"No, it can't." She was startled upon hearing the silent man speak up all of a sudden. She turned around and almost immediately regretted it when she found his piercing gaze on her. "It's about the murders that have been happening lately. There is no time to waste. We need your help in the investigation."

Chihiro sat there, dumbly staring at him for a while. _Murders…_

She saw a dismembered, charred hand, burnt till it was as black as coal, reaching out to her. The smell was overpowering; it was a horrid, putrid odor. _Chihiro…_ The eerily high-pitched voice of Chizuru's called. It was coming so close to her, but she couldn't move out of its way. She was hopelessly paralyzed as she watched the hand inch nearer and nearer to her, till it grabbed her neck and began to choke the air out of her. Chihiro tried to struggle, but it was no use; it was too strong, and she couldn't move. Tears began to fall out of her eyes as her heart raced. She heard screaming and she tried to shut it out, but it continued on and on, like a never-ending siren, striking her ears with deafening pain.

And then quite suddenly the rough shaking of her shoulders hurled her back into reality. She looked up then and saw that Haku was the one shaking her, filled with worry. He was calling her name repeatedly in an effort to snap her out of that trance and continued to shake her gently until she brought her hand up to stop him.

"Chihiro, look at me. You're going to be fine. Now breathe in slowly, count with me. 1… 2… 3… 4…" She breathed in slowly in time with his count, forcing herself to stop hyperventilating.

"…3… 2… 1…" After doing it a few more times, Chihiro finally regained her normal breathing. She hastily wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, slightly embarrassed that she'd acted like that in front of them.

"Are you feeling better now?" Haku asked.

She nodded.

"You need to rest. Don't do your work anymore and have a good sleep. We'll talk again tomorrow, alright?"

Chihiro didn't respond, so the man lifted her up effortlessly and placed her in her bed anyway. He pulled the blanket over her and rested a hand over her forehead. "You're not sick, just under a lot of stress. Sleep now, you'll feel better in the morning."

"Haku…" she whimpered, more hot tears spilling out of her eyes. "I'm scared…" She hated how much she sounded like a little child.

"No need to be scared. I'm right here with you. As long as I'm here, nothing's going to happen to you."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Don't… Don't lie to me…" Her eyelids were falling slowly.

Haku grimly smiled as he squeezed her hand and kissed it softly. "I would never lie to you, never in a thousand years."

"Haku…" she whispered one more time almost inaudibly before exhaustion completely took over her.

* * *

The next day, Chihiro tried everything she could to avoid the two new students. She stuck to Takuma almost all the time and practically used him as a body shield if any of them showed up anywhere where she could see them.

The only thing she couldn't help was in class during lessons, since Haku was sitting right behind her and he was currently boring holes in her head with that piercing gaze of his. She didn't actually dare to look back and see if he _was_ staring at her, but she could feel it. And it was getting pretty uncomfortable.

When they passed by each other in the hallways, he looked like he had a lot of things to say to her, but, as much as she felt guilty for ignoring him she just wasn't ready, especially not with the episode the night before.

She still couldn't believe she'd lost control of herself and gotten a panic attack right in front of the two of them. Her face would still flush at the embarrassing memory. For some reason she just didn't want them to get close to her.

During lesson, Chihiro tried hard to concentrate but with last night's events and Haku behind her, she found herself drifting to other thoughts. Takuma had to nudge her every now and then to pull her back to the real world and explain to her what the teacher had just said.

For the third time during Biology, he nudged her again. "What? Oh, sorry. What did she say?" Chihiro asked, giving him a rueful smile.

"What's up with you? You've been distracted all day."

"It's nothing…"

"Oh, it's something alright. Tell me," he said.

"I guess I'm just tired? I haven't finished doing the assignments."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "When you're tired you doze off, you don't daydream." Chihiro slunk back in her seat. Why did Takuma have to be so sharp about everything?

"Now tell me," he insisted, "what's on your mind?"

"I was just thinking about… you know…" She gritted her teeth.

Takuma frowned at that. "Hey," he said, putting his hand over hers and squeezing it softly, "Don't stress yourself out over that anymore. It's over."

"I know. I just can't help it. The pictures just keep coming back, and it's like I can hear her voice calling my name, and—"

"Don't," Takuma warned. She recognized that tone and dropped it. "Sorry," she muttered.

"It's fine, just try not to think about it anymore. I'm here, alright?" he offered her a smile and a pat on the back.

She smiled back. "Thanks, Takuma."

"No problem." Then he leaned over and whispered, "Now will you tell me why the new guy sitting behind you keeps staring at you?"

She swallowed thickly. "H-How should I know?" Chihiro shrugged and went back to taking down notes written on the blackboard. She was already expecting that Haku would get concerned, but for some reason knowing that he was staring at her all throughout the lesson didn't help slow her heart rate down.

After school, Chihiro headed over to the school gate with Takuma. Yui had a date with Kazune, so the two of them were left to each other's company. "Man, it's been a while since we've hung out with Yui. Ever since she and Kazune got together she's been ditching us all the time. We hardly even get to talk to her anymore," Takuma complained.

Chihiro smiled. "Yeah… I think if we want to hang out with her we'd have to book a day and time one month before. It's like she's going on a date with Kazune every day."

"You know, you could always tell Kazune to lend Yui to us every now and then. He listens to you."

"I think even if he wanted to, Yui wouldn't leave his side for a minute. That girl… And anyway, who says he listens to me?"

"I don't know. You're pretty scary when you're mad so people listen to you."

"I don't get mad that easily! Besides, even when I'm mad I speak calmly," she huffed.

"See, you're mad."

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are," he shot back.

"You know, if this continues, I really might get angry," she warned, and got the satisfaction of seeing some trace of fright on his face.

"Sorry, Your Highness Chihiro," he smirked.

She grinned and slapped him on the back playfully. "That's more like it, servant Takuma."

Just as they were approaching the front gate, someone called Chihiro.

Dread washed over the girl as she watched Yuu jogging over to where she was, with Haku strolling behind him casually. "Hi, Chihiro!"

"Takuma, let's walk faster," she whispered and grabbed his hand, pulling him as they quickened their pace. Yuu called her two more times, before appearing to give up. Chihiro didn't look back, but she couldn't hear the sound of his footsteps anymore.

She sighed in relief then, and she ignored Takuma's quizzical expression that was directed at her. "Just don't feel like socializing today," she said. He seemed to buy that for the time being.

Takuma offered to walk her home, and it was only when they were about to separate that she realized she'd been holding on to his hand the whole journey back by accident. "Sorry about that," she muttered.

"No worries, just go get some rest, and don't over think things. If you want to get things off your mind, just drop me a text. I've got a ton of cold jokes to share with you. Just found them over the Internet yesterday," he winked.

She rolled her eyes. His cold jokes were the worst. "Okay, okay, you clown. Bye."

"Bye, Chihiro."

The girl went into her room, dropped her bag on the floor and changed into a loose tee and shorts before grabbing her basketball and going to the backyard to do some training. She had extra time that day, so why not? It was close to competition season anyway, and she needed to make sure she was in top form.

Chihiro thought she'd be able to enjoy the serenity of the cloudy afternoon, but heavens no, some people just had to spoil it for her while she was in the middle of practice.

After slamming the ball into the hoop, she suddenly heard a loud cheer coming from behind her. She snapped her head up, only to find Yuu and Haku standing at the other end of the court, with Yuu clapping in admiration and Haku trying to hide a smile.

"W-What are you two doing here? How did you get into the house?" She swore she had locked it properly when she came in.

Yuu shrugged. "We climbed in. Pretty easy, actually."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "That's trespassing, now leave me alone. I'm busy."

"We really need your help, Chihiro."

"No, you really don't. I'm useless. I don't know much about those things. There are lots of other people in school who are more insightful on this case. You should ask them not me." The girl suppressed a shiver and the dangerous thoughts that were resurfacing. She tried to distract herself by dribbling the ball casually while talking to them.

Haku spoke up then. "We already have most of the basic information about this case, but we need your help specifically because we suspect you may have a connection to the culprit."

Chihiro froze, and heard the faint thumping of the ball as it bounced away from her hand. "W-What?"

"Two of the victims had conflicts with you and then quite soon after, they were murdered. The timing is uncanny."

"T-That's just a coincidence. That drunkard may have offended other people as well, and Chizuru…" She swallowed thickly, trying to subdue the feeling of nausea rising in her chest, "Chizuru wasn't a very likeable person in school either; she could have easily offended other people. It doesn't mean anything. It's just a coincidence."

"Perhaps. But we're not taking any chances. The murderer might well be someone close to you," Haku said, green orbs trained intently on her. He walked towards her as he continued, "And, we are under orders to resolve this case with your help."

"I never said anything about going to help you…" she said, averting her eyes from his.

"It is up to you to help us or not, but remember that as long as the case remains unsolved, the murderer runs free and more people will die."

"How am I supposed to help you? I don't even know anything about this guy!"

Now he was standing right in front of her. "It's alright, but there may be areas where we require your assistance, like research. We spirits are not familiar with the technology humans use, so it would be a great help if you could help us in that regard."

Chihiro didn't like the way he was speaking to her. It was so formal… so serious… so similar to "Master Haku".

"Will you help us, Chihiro?" His tone was suddenly softer, and then he took her hand, holding it tightly against his chest. "It is our duty to resolve this case, but as a friend, let me protect you as well. I don't want to see you get hurt or put in danger. If this man—assuming the culprit is a man—is someone near you, I refuse to let you remain in such a vulnerable position. So, will you?"

Chihiro could feel her cheeks heating up. Though she really doubted the murderer could be connected to her—that'd be too much like a horror movie—there really wasn't any harm in helping them out and gaining some protection in return. Besides, she couldn't find it in herself to reject that earnest gaze of his. "If… If you really need help, I guess…"

She looked up, and then saw the corners of his lips turn up. This was the first time she saw his smile in the past eight years. There was such warmth in that smile, and for a moment she was brought back to the time when she was just a ten-year-old.

"Thank you, Chihiro."

* * *

A/N: Yay finally got to update! Hope you liked this chapter (: Thanks for the encouraging reviews so far and do spare a few seconds to type out a review! They mean a lot!

See you soon~


	7. Renewed

Judgment of the Supernatural: Renewed

**Warning: This chapter contains some mild graphic violence. Take heed. ;) **

Yuko and Akio both got a surprise to find two boys in their house together with their daughter. Chihiro spotted them when they returned and introduced her two friends to them. Haku and Yuu both bowed politely, and then an excited Yuko invited them to stay for dinner. She didn't take 'no' for an answer and then she asked Chihiro to help out in the kitchen to prepare for dinner; she knew Akio wanted the chance to size both of them up.

So while Chihiro was helping her mother in the kitchen, Akio was seated on the couch facing the two boys. "So, what are you two doing here today?"

"We're having a meeting for our assignment," Yuu answered with a smile. "I'm sorry if we're bothering you. We should be leaving after dinner."

"Oh, it's no problem. Was just kind of surprised. Chihiro has never brought any guy home except for Takuma," Akio said.

"Who's Takuma?" Haku found himself asking without meaning to.

"Chihiro's best friend. Haven't you seen them around in school? It seems she always sticks with him." Akio was smiling. "He's a good kid, that Takuma."

Haku nodded quietly. The trio struck up a small conversation while waiting for dinner to be ready, and after waiting a while more, Chihiro and Yuko emerged from the kitchen with plates of steaming hot food in their hands.

Dinner was rather interesting. Yuko shot question after question at the two out of pure curiosity and desire to get to know them better. It was rather amusing to see Haku and even Yuu get taken aback by her over-friendliness, as Chihiro liked to put it. This was why she didn't really like to bring her friends home; her mother was just too enthusiastic at times, especially when they were guys.

Haku and Yuu left the house after dinner, and after washing the dishes, Chihiro went up to her room, only to find the two of them there. They had struck an agreement, where Haku and Yuu would go to her room at night and stay there unnoticed if they needed any help with their investigation.

Chihiro sighed inwardly. She had thought she'd be able to take a little break from their company after spending an awkward afternoon with them. Evidently, she and Haku still needed more time to melt the ice between them completely.

"Hello again," Yuu greeted. He was currently lounging on her bed, and Haku on the other hand, was leaning against her closet with his arms folded across his chest.

Chihiro closed the door behind her. "How long will this take?"

"It depends."

Chihiro exhaled slowly. This was going to be a long night.

"So, where do we begin?" she asked.

"Haku, will you do the honors?" Yuu asked, directing a smile at his friend across the room.

The stoic-faced man blinked twice, and then sat himself down on a beanbag at the corner of the room. Chihiro suppressed the urge to chuckle. He looked rather funny in that position, with his legs crossed on such a small, short thing. She realized this was the first time she could see the crest of his head; usually she would have to tip her head up slightly to face him.

"I'll start from the beginning, if that's alright with you, Chihiro?"

"Sure thing. I don't really get what's going on anyway."

"Alright. To begin with, Yuu and I are dragons appointed by the Imperial Court to carry out an investigation on some illegal activity happening in the Southern end of the Spirit Realm, which is right where the Gate is situated. The Gate connects the Spirit World to the Human world. They suspect that these spirits are mixing human DNA with some of that of other captured spirits who have gone missing over the years, all of whom are extremely powerful spirits and elders.

"It is forbidden magic that they are doing, and for eight years, the group of us have been trying to keep track of their activities and find a way to stop them, but there hasn't been a lead at all, until recently."

"The murders?" Chihiro asked.

Haku nodded, his lips set in a tight line. "We highly suspect this is a result of a leak of the chemicals into the Human World. It must have affected this person, because we have heard a number of people saying that the way he kills his victims is quite humanely impossible."

"You haven't seen the videos yet?"

"No," Yuu said, and they turned their heads to him. "Like we said, we don't know how to operate the gadgets you people use, which is why we need your help. We're planning to look into the profiles of the victims and see if we can find a connection between them, and we also want to look into the murdering processes of each victim."

"I guess I could help with that. But there's a lot of coverage on the news, so it can be quite difficult to sort out the facts from speculations," she pointed out.

Both of them obviously hadn't considered this point, but Haku, being the silent optimist, only said, "If that is so it may help us to gain more perspectives of them and try to form a picture of what they were like."

Yuu was nodding in agreement. "Alright then." Chihiro took her laptop and sat on the bed next to Yuu. "Who do you want to look up first?"

The two dragons exchanged puzzled glances as Haku walked over to sit on the edge of the bed just next to Chihiro. The girl felt like slapping them for a moment; how much work had they even done prior to this?

"How about the first victim?" Yuu suggested.

Chihiro swallowed thickly. That was the drunkard she'd encountered. Wordlessly, she went into Facebook and clicked on the group where Kitami had posted the video on. Clicking the URL, a new window appeared and the video began to load.

"Amazing, what is this device called? It's like another form of magic," Yuu muttered.

"It's a laptop, and I don't really think it's a form of magic," Chihiro said.

"Sure looks pretty cool to me," he grinned. "We should get stuff like this in the spirit world. What can this thing do?"

Chihiro thought about it for a moment. "A lot of things, actually. You can use it for research, because this thing can connect to the Internet, and you can basically access information shared internationally. You can use it to play games and communicate with your friends too."

"What are these buttons on the laptop?" Haku asked, peering over to see. He looked a little suspicious of them, as if pressing one of them would make it go on self-destruct mode.

Suddenly feeling up to a bit of mischief, Chihiro pointed her index finger at the power button. "See this? If you press this button, the whole laptop will explode and we'll spontaneously combust. So don't ever press this button. Got it?"

Haku looked like he actually believed her for a moment until he saw the smirk playing on her lips and narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm not falling for that. Who would put such a dangerous thing on a computer that can be accessed by children?"

"I'm not a child!"

"Childish enough to think that bluff would actually work on me," he rebutted with a smile. "But seriously, what does it do?"

"The computer just turns off if you press that," she replied. There went her fun.

The three of them didn't have to wait long for the video to load. Chihiro sighed inaudibly when the video started and turned the volume down just in case there was a lot of screaming in that video.

Chihiro's eyes flickered down to the video description, which contained a brief summary of the victim's sins that had prompted such brutal judgment.

_**Biggest sin: Attempted rape of a high school girl. **_

Chihiro held back a shiver. This man had been killed just hours after attacking her. It was highly possible that the high school girl was in fact her. If that murderer had been watching them that means he had been very close by while she was in that area. Was it mere coincidence? Or was it something else?

The footage began with manic laughter, though the voice had been tuned so that it was quite unrecognizable. The voice was inhumanely deep, which made it sound like that of a demon's or a creature just as ominous. "This is what true judgment looks like," the voice cackled, the camera showing the drunkard she had met that night.

He looked exactly how he'd appeared when he attacked her, except he was covered in bruises from head to toe. His hands were tied up and the ropes were used to hang him over a horizontal metal pole sticking out of the wall, so that he was stranded mid-air and couldn't move. He shook his head violently, tears leaking out of his bruised eyes and was yelling for mercy.

"Let the judgment begin," the cameraman said.

The eerie scream that followed tore through the air and made Chihiro jump, alarming the two boys beside her. "Sorry," she muttered. They trained their eyes back on the screen.

The drunkard was getting tortured, but in an inexplicable manner. There was a lot of wind in that room, as could be told from his flying clothes and hair. Things were getting thrown around too, which added to the background noise. Then in the blink of an eye, there was a huge diagonal slash across the man's chest. His shirt had been torn as well, and red liquid oozed relentlessly out of the huge wound, along with an absolutely bone-chilling scream of agony. Chihiro had never heard someone scream like that before, not so desperately or painfully before.

The odd thing was that she didn't even get to see how the first blow had been inflicted on the man. She stared harder at the screen, trying to catch any signs of choppers or knives being thrown. However, there was none. As cut after cut followed though, Chihiro began to notice that there were almost invisible slices of _wind_ that were easily mutilating the man's body.

"What in the-" She was cut off by a "Shh" sound from Yuu. He was just as intrigued, except he was frowning quite deeply.

The video lasted only about five minutes, but it seemed like an eternity of screaming and torture. Each strike that landed on the man made the sour feeling of nausea ever more prominent in her chest. Before the final strike that the murderer landed on the man, the drunkard was barely gasping for air. His blood was splattered all across the floor and walls, sweat soaked his clothes and hair, and his eyes were rolling back. "This is what true justice looks like, hahaha…" the cameraman said, laughing, as if he was actually enjoying himself.

And then, the final blow came. Haku shot a hand up to cover Chihiro's eyes just as the strongest, shortest slash of wind met the victim's neck. Chihiro heard nothing more than a thump coming from the screen, and she assumed that his head had fallen to the ground. Silence followed shortly after, signaling the end of the video.

"Are you all right?" Haku asked Chihiro worriedly, as he brought his hand back down.

"Y-Yeah…" she muttered.

"You look slightly pale," he noted.

"It's okay, I'm really fine. Just… I need to go to the toilet for a minute. Excuse me." She got off the bed and walked briskly out of the room, closing the door behind her.

In the toilet, Chihiro splashed cold water onto her face and gripped the edges of the sink tightly, panting hard. Her heart was racing after watching that horrifying video—Takuma was right, she really shouldn't be watching those videos. Something about it reminded her about how she had discovered Chizuru's body at the pier…

Holding back the urge to throw up, she tilted her head back and focused on controlling her breathing. She couldn't be so weak, the investigation was probably going to dig much deeper into the cases, and she couldn't afford to pull Yuu and Haku back all because of a silly phobia. _Suck it up, Chihiro. You can do it. _

She splashed her face with water once more before wiping her face dry with a towel and headed back into the room.

Haku and Yuu were in the middle of a discussion, both men frowning deeply and each taking turns to name more points. They looked up when they saw Chihiro enter, and Haku was the one who went up to her to ask if she was feeling fine. She raised her brow at his concerned expression, wondering why he was caring so much about her. "I'm really fine. I just needed to use the bathroom earlier. So, what were you two discussing about?" she sidestepped him and sat by her desk, facing the two of them.

"It's pretty obvious now that the murderer can wield wind magic, and quite expertly at that," Yuu commented. "The attacks were clean and concise, not missing any vital part of the victim's body. He decapitated him quite well too."

"A wind user like me…" Haku trailed off.

"Have you considered that it could be fake? The entire video?" asked Chihiro. "He could have killed the man using a knife, but then used some form of video editing to make it look like he had some supernatural abilities."

"No, they're real. When Haku fights to kill, this is more or less what it looks like," Yuu said confidently.

_When Haku fights to kill… _The thought of Haku, the gentle man before her, taking a life so callously was quite frankly, unnerving. How many lives had he taken before, she wondered?

"Anyway, for now I suppose we'll continue watching the other videos this person has posted. Would you help us navigate this thing?" Yuu asked.

"I have heard the others were killed in varying manners. This murderer could be in a group, or an individual with a combination of several powers," Haku said, as Chihiro obliged and help to open new tabs, all of which were the different videos the murderer had posted. There were about five videos in total, one of whom was Chizuru, and the other three being people she didn't recognize.

"Read the video descriptions, they contain information on the 'sins' they committed which prompted the 'judgment' this guy gives them," she said, before pulling her Biology textbook out of her bag to do some revision for the test the day after.

"Thank you," they said simultaneously before going back to watching the videos. Chihiro then plugged her headphones into her hand phone and played music so that none of the screaming would reach her ears.

It did not take too long for Haku and Yuu to finish watching the videos. They all lasted only about five minutes each as well. When they finished, they were engaged in a little more discussion, and then Yuu yawned and announced he was going to leave. He mentioned something about taking a shower and having some sake before going to bed as he left, inviting Haku as he did so. Haku declined and remained in Chihiro's room for a while more, replaying the videos and appearing to be in deep thought.

He spent almost two hours scrutinizing and replaying the videos, pausing them every now and then to examine something, before continuing. The cycle continued, all the way till it was nearly eleven and Chihiro said that she was going to retire for the night.

"Haku, aren't you tired of watching the same thing over and over?" she asked as she packed her bag for the next day. "Are there that many things to study?"

He sighed and handed the laptop back to her, which she placed on her study table. "It is quite tedious, I admit, but it's just so I can get a better understanding of this person. I am mostly sure that he has been affected by the chemical leak, so I wanted to see if more clues could be gathered as to his whereabouts."

"Any leads so far?"

He shook his head. "No. But we've only seen the videos. The only peculiar thing we found was that this man has varying magical abilities, which could prove rather troublesome in apprehending him. We don't know what kind of effects the chemicals could have on the human body, after all. And there are many more things to study, like the autopsy, relevant news coverage and the like."

"That's true…" she nodded. "Sounds like we've got our work cut out for us, huh."

His lips turned up at the corners. "Yes, it seems so."

A moment of pregnant silence followed, as both ran out of things to say. Chihiro hesitated, unsure if she should initiate a conversation. Haku looked just as uncertain. There wasn't much to talk about though, other than the case at hand. The only reason why they were even talking really was because of this whole investigation. Other than that, Chihiro didn't know what common topics they shared other than the eight-year-gap of their lives and asking him more about himself.

Feeling quite disconcerted with the awkward silence, she decided to just start with something. "So… how's it been, the last eight years?"

A look of surprise fleeted across his face, but he recovered quickly. "It's been… fine, if I must say. Being part of the Imperial Court is not the most relaxing job to have, but it's quite good compared to the bathhouse."

"I see…"

"How about you? How have you been? You've gotten a lot tanner since we last met."

"I took up basketball, so I'm out under the Sun quite often now. The past eight years… Time flies, I guess. One year flies after the other, and before you know it, it's been eight years since we last met each other…"

"Chihiro, about that-"

"It's fine, you don't have to explain it to me," she cut in. "You have your reasons, right?"

He frowned. "Yes, but I want to explain myself clearly."

"Don't. I… don't want to brood over this anymore."

"I've never once forgotten about you," he said anyway, stepping closer to her. Chihiro glanced warily at him, noticing the earnest look in his beautiful, enchanting orbs. "This past eight years hasn't been easy for me either, I planned to visit you after settling in to my new life. But… things changed when I joined the Imperial Court. With the amount of work to do, there was no time for me to see you. And, supervision is tight. It is forbidden for young generals to enter the Human World, unless on orders to do so, which was incredibly rare—I never got the chance.

"Only after getting promoted, I was able to come, but that was three years after you left. I went to see you, but I saw that you had your friends and your own life to live; I didn't want to spoil that for you, as funny as it sounds." He smiled sadly. "So I watched over you in secret whenever I could. I was there when you won your first basketball tournament, when you tripped and fell in the forest during a camping trip, even the time you consoled your friend who was afraid of a nonexistent monster named "Big Foot". You had a wonderful life, and I doubted you would even remember me, a Spirit who is considered just another myth among humans."

"I never forgot about you either," Chihiro said with her face down. "Not once. How could you think I'd forget you? I remember Kamaji, Lin, Granny, Bo, No-Face, Yubaba and the workers at the bathhouse, and their faces are still quite clear in my head, because I would daydream about you guys almost every day. I don't forget friends so easily, especially not those who saved me." She looked up then, giving Haku full view of her sparkling, moist eyes. "You can't imagine how much I missed you, Haku. I was hoping and holding on to that promise, I even tried going back to the Spirit World but the stupid barrier wouldn't let me, and I even went to where the Kohaku River used to be if I was nearby just to see if you were there. I was let down every time," she murmured.

"I'm sorry, I truly am, Chihiro, for causing you so much hurt these past eight years. I wanted to keep my promise, but I didn't know if it was the right thing to do."

Chihiro shook her head. "You had my interests at heart, so never mind that." She impulsively wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "I'm just glad I got to see you again… You kept your promise in the end, so I guess you're forgiven."

She felt Haku slowly reciprocate and return the hug, squeezing her just as tightly and burying his face in her soft, brown locks. "Thank you, Chihiro. Thank you."

"Just promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Don't leave me like that anymore. Even after this investigation is over, I still want you to come back. Friends don't just up and leave like that in the human world, just in case it's a normal thing over at the other side of the gate. Even if you don't have time you can just drop a letter from the sky or do something just so I know you're still alive, okay?"

"It's not normal; spirits interact in a similar manner to you humans, though we're more committed in our relationships, I can assure you that. And I'm not going to die that easily," he chuckled.

"Then, you promise?"

Haku smiled. "Promise."

* * *

A/N: Hi there! Sorry for the late update; I had a little bit of trouble coming up with something for this chapter x) Hope you like the little moment the two shared! And just a heads' up, I won't be updating until after 15 October, which is when my End-of-Years end, so… ): Anyways, I hope you're enjoying the story so far, and if you do, hopefully you don't mind sparing just ten seconds to type a short review out? (: Hehe.

Thank you for the support so far and yeaps see you soon (hopefully)! ^^


	8. Veiled

Judgment of the Supernatural: Veiled

For the rest of the week, much to the surprise of Chihiro's friends, she appeared to be good friends with Haku and Yuu all of a sudden. They would greet each other in the hallways and even converse amiably if time allowed in between classes or during lessons in hushed voices.

And no thanks to the nosiness of many students, soon rumors of a love triangle between the three of them spread to the entire school.

Chihiro was walking back home with Yui and Takuma, listening to her chatter excitedly about how Kazune had brought her out to the beach the day before for her birthday. "And you know," she squealed, "he actually arranged candles on the beach in a heart and he prepared a picnic! How romantic, right? Then Kazune and I sat down watching the sunset as we ate! It was pretty quiet too, so it was just the two of us there. Chihiro, isn't he the sweetest?"

"Yes, yes, Kazune is the sweetest man alive," Chihiro said with an airy laugh.

"Even sweeter than me, huh. The times have changed…" Takuma muttered.

"Stop teasing me!" Yui whined. "And Takuma, you're still the sweet big brother ever, don't worry. And, speaking of which, Chihiro, I hear you have something going on with the two new transfer students, or more specifically, Haku?"

Chihiro stared at her friend flatly. "Nearly everyone has been asking me about that."

"But you two went from being strangers to becoming good friends! And Haku doesn't even talk to other girls; he's only nice to you. Don't you think he might have a thing for you?"

"No, he doesn't."

"How would you know? Afraid of rejection?"

'_I know because he's a spirit and I'm a human and things just don't work that way,' _she thought absently to herself. "We're just… friends."

"Remember to tell me if you two develop into something more," her friend winked gleefully.

"We won't," she promised. Then she realized Takuma had been staring at her with an odd look on his face. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"Ah, sorry, no… It's just that you have this look when you're talking to him…"

The brunette frowned. "What look?"

"Don't tell me; it's loooove!" Yui exclaimed.

"It's not! What look, Takuma?"

"I don't know, it reminds me of how you used to look when we were kids. You used to have that look when you were daydreaming."

"Oh." Chihiro pursed her lips. "It's just a coincidence then."

Takuma hummed in response. "By the way, Chihiro, how did you get so friendly with Haku and Yuu suddenly?" Yui asked.

"Yeah, I remember you were avoiding them like your life depended on it," Takuma added.

She shrugged. "Apparently they stay close by so they paid my house a visit and then we got to know each other better."

"Why were you even trying to run from them before?" the dark-haired girl asked.

"Uh… It's… complicated?"

Yui cocked an eyebrow. "Nice try, honey. What's going on between the three of you? Don't tell me it's really a love triangle?"

"Of course it's nothing like that!" Chihiro retorted. "It's just sort of hard to explain right now. I'll tell you guys everything when the time is right, I suppose…" The ghost of a smile played on her lips as she said that.

"Trying to be deep now, eh?" Takuma teased.

"I've always been this 'deep'. You're just too dense to realize it."

* * *

In the late afternoon at home, Chihiro went into her room to get her basketball, having intentions to train a little before dinner, when she started at the sight of Haku and Yuu in her room. "What are you doing here?"

"Investigating," Haku replied, not shifting his gaze from the stack of documents he was reading with Haku. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Nothing… It's just this is the first time this week you showed up, so I wasn't exactly expecting anyone to be in my room. Speaking of which, can you please stop levitating in mid-air? Just sit down like a normal person!" Chihiro frowned and gestured to Yuu who was lying on his side in mid-air as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Calm down, I'm not going to fall or get hurt."

"Who said I was worried about you getting hurt? If anyone sees they're going to make a big fuss!"

"The curtains are drawn, there's no need to worry. Besides, I don't hear anyone out on the street at the moment." His eyes flickered up to meet hers. "My hearing is reliable, promise."

Chihiro rolled her eyes. "If anyone sees you I'm telling them it's a ghost."

"Make that a 'handsome ghost' while you're at it."

Chihiro gave him a pointed stare while Haku nudged him with a hint of annoyance on his face. "Stop getting distracted, Yuu."

"What are you two reading anyway?" They looked like college students in the middle of preparing for their finals the day before, with the stacks papers that appeared tall enough to bury them both alive.

"With the help of you and some other students who taught us how to use a computer in the school's library, we managed to dig up numerous tabloids and news with regards to the various victims. Now we're trying to look through them and discern which ones are the more credible ones. There are quite a lot of unnecessary speculations though," Haku frowned, pursing his lips. "This could take a while. When we're done we'd like to discuss these with you, if you don't mind."

Chihiro smiled. "I don't. Do you need my help with this?" She gestured to the enormous stacks of papers. "You look like you need it."

"It's fine, we can handle this. We'll finish this in two hours, tops," Yuu answered confidently.

The girl gazed at him in disbelief. "Two hours? All this in _two hours_?"

"Kind of makes being a spirit look pretty attractive, huh? Imagine, studying half a year's worth of study notes in two hours?"

"Yeah…" Chihiro muttered. "Fine, then I'll be in the basketball court if you need me." The girl then grabbed her ball from the corner of the room and went downstairs.

Two hours later the girl was back in her room after a shower and dinner with her parents. True to his word, Yuu and Haku were both done with their reading and were now casually lounging in her room. Yuu was particularly fond of her bed so he was currently lying down on the soft mattress, resting his arms beneath his head. "Oh hey, Chihiro you're back," he grinned.

"Are you two really done with all of those?" she asked with wide eyes.

Haku nodded with a smirk. "Yes, we are. Come, we have some things to discuss with you." He motioned to Yuu who then reluctantly got off the bed and sat on the floor cross-legged beside him. Chihiro closed the circle.

"We'll go through the victims in order. Firstly we have Ijirou Himuro, aged thirty. He was recently fired prior to his murder, and he is a married man with a young daughter. According to several sources he was a drunkard and his wife sued him twice, both times for domestic abuse, but he always got off the hook. The last person to see him was his wife and daughter in their home at night, after he returned home in a stupor and violently abused them both. He was found in a sewer in a remote area in the city, bearing cuts that were wielded from wind magic, not any ordinary blade."

"Were they all killed the same way?" Chihiro asked.

"No. As of now there are seven victims. Three of them were killed in this way, wind magic, two were burnt by flame magic, one was found caught in the middle of cracks in the ground—we believe that to be earth magic, and another was killed by drowning, though the place where she was found was nowhere close to a water source. It points to the possibility of water lock magic."

"All four elements? I thought this would be what you see in a cartoon," she commented.

"This person cannot be underestimated. His abilities remain largely unknown to us and it is likely that he is unable to control these powers meant only for the ancient spirits."

"Why do you assume it's a person? I thought you said it could be a group of them?" she asked.

Now it was Yuu's turn to flaunt some of his knowledge of the case. "We got a report from Lord Kamahi. They've managed to identify the location of the leak and after conducting an in-depth investigation they found that the chemicals leaked out were barely enough to provide a single human with spiritual abilities."

"In other words, there is only one perpetrator and for now, we'll assume him to be a man."

"Okay… Then, what else have you found out?"

"This is actually quite obvious already, but the victims all had one thing in common: They committed terrible acts against others and so this man decided to use his abilities to lay judgment on them."

Chihiro emitted a small sigh. "In other words, this guy is playing god, right?"

"You could put it that way, I guess," Yuu said. "I think the question now is, 'What next?'"

"Agreed," Haku nodded, "We still cannot find out who the perpetrator is from all of this information. He may or may not have known the victims, which makes it harder to trace his whereabouts. The only thing we can do is to be on the lookout and try to trace his scent when he hits his target next…"

Chihiro frowned. "Doesn't that mean one more person is going to die?"

Wordlessly, he nodded, looking away. "I can't think of a way to save them. There're just too many possibilities."

"There has to be a way, I don't want to see anyone else die, it's not fair."

"I know it isn't. But as of now there is no other way we can trace him."

"Haku," Yuu began. "I have a suggestion."

"What is it?"

"If you realize, this person is out to exact judgment on those who deserve punishment for their wrongdoings and whatnot. And take for example, Kuretsu Megumi and Taisan Haru, secretary and chairman of the huge enterprise Taisan. We found rumors circulating on the web of them having an affair, but rumors are rumors; they cannot be trusted so easily. I doubt this person chooses his victims based on the rumors he hears; he has to witness it for himself before he decides to take action."

"But there was photographic evidence online about the two of them," Haku pointed out.

"Yes, but how reliable can this "evidence" get? The photos were hardly conclusive either."

"What's your point?" Chihiro asked.

"My point is, for someone to witness these two in action or see Taisan Haru abusing his wife, then he must have been in contact with either one of them. He's not just some ordinary person, so it narrows down our list of suspects tremendously."

"That's still assuming he only springs into action after witnessing things for himself. Besides, he could have just happened to see the three of them when they were at a restaurant having dinner or something," the brunette noted.

"And now we're back to square one," Haku sighed. "I think we had better bring this to Lord Kamahi and have his opinion on this. For now, the only option we have would be to wait for the next case to come up and then we'll just trace his scent to where he is."

Chihiro kept silent at that. Yuu checked the time. "Wow, it's getting late, should we? I want to go back and rest," he yawned, flashing white canines.

"I don't mind…" Haku muttered. Just then, his ears perked up and he narrowed his eyes. "There's an intruder below your window, Chihiro."

The girl squirmed when he pushed her back away from the window, crouching in battle stance and ready to kill whoever was down there. "Haku, what are you talking about? You didn't even look out the window!"

"I heard something."

"Heard what?"

"Was it some rustling?" Yuu asked. "I think I heard something odd too."

"It could be a cat," she sighed, brushing Haku's concerns away as undue paranoia.

"No, it isn't."

Suddenly Yuu pushed Haku away and began wrestling her into her closet. "Get in."

"No! What the hell? Yuu, quit it!" she struggled back against him, kicking her legs violently but never quite managing to hit him.

"It could be someone dangerous, at least let us scope out the perimeter first," he said seriously.

"You know, we aren't living in a movie."

"What's a movie?"

She rolled her eyes, sending him a sharp glare when he forced her another step into her closet. "Never mind."

"Chihiro!" someone other than the two manic dragons hissed.

"Takuma?" Chihiro recognized that voice. "Chihiro, pssst," came the low whisper again.

"Takuma! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, shoving Yuu away from her and stepping out of her closet. She took him by surprise and then began to wrestle him into the closet, as she made wild gestures with her head for Haku to hide somewhere too. "Don't let him see you!" she hissed at the both of them.

Yuu begrudgingly let her slam him into the small closet while Haku sighed and lit his index finger with a small white light. Then, he suddenly disappeared.

She covered her mouth so she wouldn't make the mistake of yelling his name and asking where on earth he'd gone. "Haku!" she whispered, and she nearly yelped when she felt a hand on her shoulder though no one was actually there. "Just an invisibility spell, no need to panic," he muttered.

"I see…" she said, heart still dancing in frenzy from that shock he gave her. Then, remembering that Takuma was still outside, she quickly ran over to the window, only to find him standing on one of the big trees just next to her window. He was standing close enough to reach over and climb over her window into her room. "The fair princess finally showed up. You took really long," he noted, all the while holding on to the tree trunk for dear life.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Takuma simply shrugged. "Couldn't sleep, so I decided to pay you a visit, just like old times."

"Just like old times, huh…" She smiled. "You used to do this every time you couldn't sleep. But the last time you came over was two years ago, because you insisted you didn't need me to take care of you," she chuckled. "So what brought this on?"

"I don't know, really. Just… well, I kind of missed doing this. Remember how I'd hide under your bed or in your closet if your parents came in?"

Chihiro laughed. "Yeah, that happened way too often. We always got so paranoid at the slightest sound because of that. And we used to do some mean gossiping too… Remember Tanaka Sensei?"

Takuma wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Who wouldn't? Man who thinks he's the number one bachelor in the whole world lectures all the boys constantly about how we should act. I will never understand how he got the idea that women liked men with hairy legs."

"Oh, and he used to wear knee-length pants or even shorts at any chance he got!" Chihiro added.

"That too," he cringed at the memory, "it was so gross. I still think he's secretly a gorilla who can act human and speak."

"There was the time he gave the whole class a fifteen-minute commercial on leg cream that supposedly made your hair grow out. Nearly all the girls were gagging."

"The boys too," he said. "By the way, mind bringing this conversation in? I don't know about you, but standing on a tree and hoping not to fall off at any moment isn't very comfortable."

"Oh right, sorry." He climbed further up so he was now standing above her, and reached a long, muscular leg over her window before clinging on tightly with his hands and pulling himself over with Chihiro's help. They tumbled to the floor clumsily, laughing. "I still remember the time you fell off the tree and sprained your ankle. My parents nearly found you that time."

He grimaced at the painful memory. "Four years, but I still have a phobia of falling now."

"And yet you're still climbing," she pointed out.

"Hey, what's life without some risks? It's still better than skydiving anyway."

"We should go again sometime. That was your first so you'd freak out more than usual, but after doing it a couple more times you'll get used to it. It's really fun," Chihiro said.

Takuma visibly held back a shudder. "No thank you, I can't believe I actually believed you when you said it wasn't going to scary at all."

"It's subject to opinion, you just weren't careful," she shot back, sticking her tongue out at him.

"And yeah, you really should get off of me now, you're heavy." That was when Chihiro realized that she was practically sitting on his lap. Well, it had been the next most comfortable position to be in after falling on her floor like that. "Ah, sorry about that. Looks like I need to lay off the chips for a while."

"Yeah, you should." Chihiro noticed from the corner of her eye, the slight blush Takuma had on his cheekbones. She looked away herself, swallowing thickly. Sometimes that whole relationship thing between them made it a little awkward, but the fact that Takuma was fine and being a good sport about it made Chihiro feel slightly better.

"So… what do you want to do now?" she quipped, plopping herself onto the bed.

"I don't know… hang out till I get sleepy and decide to head back maybe?" he suggested, settling into the beanbag opposite her bed.

"Sounds all right. Don't you have to study for that test though?"

"What test? Oh, you mean Math? It's easy, no need to study," he said with a casual wave of the hand.

Clicking her tongue, she chucked a small pillow at him. "You are the reason why I really don't like Math. You get really good grades by hardly studying, while I, on the other hand, have to work my brains off just to get a B."

"No complaining, you're a natural at basketball, while people like me have to train my limbs off to stay as a regular."

"You're not a bad player," she protested.

"Yeah, but not very exceptional either." He sighed. "But whatever's best for the team, I guess. Just going to have to work harder."

"Competition season's coming up. How's everyone doing?" Chihiro inquired.

Takuma spread his legs out on the floor and answered, "Everyone's really great. Training's been tough, but we can see the improvement. Hopefully this time we'll make it to nationals."

"No hoping; just working for it."

"Yeah, yeah, you and your motivational speeches. Spare me," he said with a grin, though he acknowledged that encouragement.

"So, what are you doing on your laptop?" He gestured to the laptop that was currently resting on her blanket.

"Nothing much, just scrolling through Facebook to see what's going on," she lied.

"Huh. There isn't much to do these days, don't you think?"

"Yeah," she agreed dryly. "Although Yui seems plenty busy at the moment."

"Leave her be, you know she's been dreaming of this for the longest time," he said.

"I know, I know, it's just kind of boring without her. We used to hang out all the time," Chihiro muttered.

"Speaking of which, we haven't hung out in a long time, right? How about this Saturday? The three of us can hang out just like old times, and we can go catch that new movie, "Black Knight"."

"Sure, as long as she's free. Her schedule is packed to the brim, I don't even get to go home with her anymore, with Kazune as her escort," Chihiro pouted.

"Well if she doesn't come then we'd just go together then. I know you've wanted to watch this movie for a while now. This Saturday's the last day it's showing too."

Chihiro rolled her eyes. "_You've_ been wanting to watch this movie for a while now; I'm the neutral one. But okay, I'm up for it."

"Geez, you make it sound like you weren't ogling at the actor when you saw the poster."

"I was not! I'm just… a modest admirer of his works. His acting is amazing!"

"Oh, go on. You'd talk about this till morning."

She shot a playful glare at him. "Is that a challenge?"

"No, I'm not going to try," he said.

"What time are you going back, by the way?"

"I don't know. If you're going to sleep then I'll just leave."

"It's almost half past twelve and I have training tomorrow, sorry," apologized Chihiro.

He smiled, waving a hand. "It's fine, sorry to be bothering you so late."

"It's not like it's the first time you're doing this, anyway. Goodnight," she said, walking him to the window. "Are you sure you don't want to go by the front door?"

"Your dad is probably snoozing on the couch. If I accidentally wake him up, I'd get killed."

"That's true," she said, rubbing her hands together and feigning an evil look. "How about let's do just that?"

"You monster!" he cried, placing a hand on the windowsill. "Goodnight, you beastly woman I call a friend."

"Goodnight, you cow," she said. "Careful, don't fall."

"I'm not going to," he said, looking offended. "Before I forget, come here." He raised a hand, looking like he wanted to whisper something to her. She shot him an incredulous look. "We're the only ones in this room, what are you trying to whisper for?"

"The walls have ears," he whispered dramatically, shooting his eyes in all four directions nervously. Chuckling at his antics, she complied and leaned closer to him.

She barely had time to react when he sneakily planted a chaste kiss on her cheek before practically flying out the window. "Goodnight!" he called behind him as he made his way down the tree and strolling off down the road.

Chihiro didn't reply; her hand was touching her cheek where his lips had just been, and for a moment she felt her heart flutter a little. It wasn't that she liked him that way; it was just that she hadn't quite been so intimate with another man before, save the time Takuma had kissed her in the car.

Just then, the closet door opened with a loud noise, effectively startling her. Yuu emerged, as did Haku from the shadows. Chihiro sighed inwardly. She totally forgot that they had been hiding!

"So, was that your boyfriend?" Yuu asked with a smirk.

Chihiro felt her cheeks heat up. "No! Takuma's just a friend!"

"No need to get so defensive, girl. By the way, you're blushing. So, I take it you're attracted to him?" he continued with a sly smile.

"I am not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Just admit it, you were somewhat embarrassed by that action, but not in a bad way, right?"

"I was just surprised, don't read so much into it," she retorted, huffing and putting her laptop back on the study table. "I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight."

"We shan't disturb you any longer then," Haku said quietly.

Yuu yawned loudly, stretching his arms. "I'm ready to get back home too. Goodnight Chihiro. Thanks for today."

"No problem, bye." Both Haku and her waved as the redhead stepped out of the window and walked on air towards the distant half-moon.

"Thanks a lot for today, Chihiro. We managed to do a lot thanks to you."

"It's fine, really. It's actually quite fun to investigate this case, gore aside."

"Indeed," he said with an amused gleam in his emerald orbs. "By the way, is Takuma a very close friend of yours?"

"Takuma?" she echoed. "Well yeah, he's my best friend… Why do you ask?"

He shook his head, smiling. "It's nothing. I'm just glad that you found such a good friend. He seems to be quite the lively person."

"You have no idea," she chuckled. "Maybe we could all hang out sometime, you'd get to know one more human personally."

"Perhaps, if time allows," he conceded. "Well then, I'll take my leave. Sleep well, Chihiro."

"You too. See you tomorrow."

She thought Haku would go with that, but no, he didn't. Instead, he took a step closer to her and before she could realize what he was doing, she felt warm, soft lips touch her forehead lightly. "Sweet dreams, Chihiro," he murmured before exiting her room.

Chihiro turned off the lights and pulled the covers over her. "What's this?" Her heart was fluttering again, though more intensely than when Takuma had kissed her. A warm feeling was spreading in her belly too, and she felt more lightheaded than usual. Did Haku cast some spell on her? What was going on?

It seemed sleep was going to elude her that night. _Sweet dreams, my foot. It'll be a miracle if I can even go to sleep at this rate, stupid Haku…_

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the slightly late update! I think I need to sit down and spend time planning out the next few chapters soon… Meh anyways hope you liked this chapter! (:


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